Don Abrams of Little Silver breaks down his 'icebird' after the first sail of the season on the Navesink Wednesday afternoon.
A couple of ice boaters took to the Navesink River yesterday afternoon after the ice reached the requisite four inches.
One of them, Don Abrams, a member of the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club, tells redbankgreen it was the first time this season that anyone had sailed the river.
But the ice was a bit rough, and coated with too much snow for his liking, he says.
A recording on the club's 'iceline' (732.747.5665), updated Wednesday evening, reports Navesink ice of three-to-five inches, with areas of as little as two-inch thickness.
Needless to say, anyone with an itch to go out on the ice is urged to take precautions.
Will the ice last, with daytime temperatures rising above freezing today and tomorrow?
Abrams explains that the warmer temperatures could smooth out the surface while subfreezing nighttime temperatures continue building thickness. That's the ideal combination.
And the forecast by the National Weather Service raises the possibility of just such conditions.
Here's the outlook:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. West wind between 7 and 16 mph.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 24. West wind between 3 and 8 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 43. Calm wind becoming south between 8 and 11 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. West wind around 10 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36. Breezy, with a northwest wind between 10 and 20 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 19.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 32.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Monday: A chance of light snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 30. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 34.
Tuesday Night: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 22. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
