With the recent below-freezing temperatures, pictures have been rolling in of people enjoying the ice this weekend around the Chesapeake Bay. On Seneca Creek in Middle River, MD, it seemed that every few piers you would see people out and about, ice skating or attempting to ice fish. But when was the last time sections of the Bay froze over this thick?
On Seneca Creek it was four years almost to the day. Four years since the river froze all the way across and was solid enough to walk on. 2014 was a cold year for the Chesapeake. Below are a few photos captured around the region, from Smith Island to Kent Island.
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Prior to 2014, there was the great freeze of 1967/1977. There were many other freezes in between, but that was the big one. You will probably recall the famous
photo of people walking out on the ice under the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The Baltimore Sun reported that this was only the ninth time in the 20th century that the Baltimore Harbor froze over, from Fort McHenry to Pratt Street. That year there was even an iceberg, or more accurately a "floeburg," found floating in the Bay.
Deep freezes were a more common occurrence on the Chesapeake Bay prior to the 1970s. The photo below was taken sometime in the early 1900s in St. Michael's harbor. But despite deep freezes becoming more rare, this year's recent "bomb cyclone" polar vortex tells us that ice skating and ice fishing on the Bay are not things of the past.
If you're out enjoying the ice this winter, send your icy Bay pics to
[email protected], but always make sure to test the thickness of the ice before walking on it. Take the proper safety precautions and bring a buddy before traversing the ice. And then enjoy!