Detour updates: Quibell still open

The other route, Hwy 601, map available on Red Lake site

 Here's a couple of bits of info on detours to Red Lake. The first is a comment to the last posting.

Matt said...

DJ - the quibell detour is open to passenger traffic. We arrived in Red Lake today via the 647 (quibell) > 609 > 105.

Matt

May 21, 2022 at 11:56 PM

 

Red Lake Municipality has a link to the Hwy 601 map detour that goes north from Dryden and follows bush roads for about 40 miles. It comes out to Hwy 105 just north of Perrault Falls. 

I would choose the Quibell route first. It is far shorter. It is also open only to passenger vehicles. Big trucks must use the Hwy 601 route.

I am thoroughly pissed at the lack of highway information out there. The so-called gold standard info site -- Ontario 511 -- would have us believe that there has been a vehicle blocking the Quibell route for the past four days. What utter nonsense! Obviously a tow vehicle would have removed such an obstacle long ago. It also reports highways closed to traffic when cars are getting through.

CBC radio and tv -- the nation's broadcaster -- has said nothing about flooded roads and highways in Northwestern Ontario. 

We are left to scrounge bits of information from here and there on the web. 

Thank you, Matt. Your comment was more important to the thousands of people coming and going from Red Lake than all of the rest of the web and media.

One of the more helpful news websites has been DrydenNow. It usually has a highway update. Pay close attention to whether a road is closed to all traffic, closed to truck traffic, closed to one lane, etc., and then make your decision.

Update: Red Lake ice gone, detour closed

 I got word late Wednesday that the ice disappeared in the Stretch, Red Lake's largest water body just west of Howey Bay. So that is ice-out!

That was followed by an update from the Town of Red Lake that Quibell Road Detour is temporarily closed. It may re-open tomorrow, May 19.

I will not give any other updates on road conditions because changes are happening so rapidly.

There are no ifs, ands or buts, get the Ontario 511 app. It has up-to-the minute road conditions, including accidents.

May 18: ice remains, highways flooded

 What a crappy spring!

There is still ice in Red Lake. It is cold and rainy today and the lake is flooding. My prediction of May 22 for ice-out might still become a reality.

If you are traveling to Red Lake for what is supposed to be opening weekend of fishing, May 21, be advised of the following:

Highway 17 has water over the road east of Vermilion Bay. A friend of ours drove through it two days ago and said the water is at least a foot deep. If you are coming from the States, crossing the border at International Falls-Fort Frances, you can avoid this spot by going west from Fort Frances on Hwy 11 to Hwy 71. This goes north to join Hwy 17. Go east on Hwy 17 toward Vermilion Bay.

At Vermilion Bay turn north on Hwy 647, also called Blue Lake Road. This is necessary because Hwy 105, the usual route to Red Lake, is closed just north of Vermilion Bay due to flooding.

Take Hwy 647 to Quibell Rd. At the town of Quibell, take Hwy 609 east to Hwy 105. Now you can head north as usual.

I recommend everybody download the Ontario 511 app to keep abreast of road closings and openings.

The situation is fluid (Hah!). The area is expecting up to two inches of rain over the next couple of days. There are flood warnings for just about everywhere along the Red Lake Road, Red Lake itself, and for the Suffel Lake Road. 

Red Lake ice is starting to break up!

 

Today at Red Lake Marine. Sherry McCoy photos

Yesterday

"When it's over so they say,

It'll rain a sunny day"

John Fogerty

Have You Ever See the Rain

Creedence Clearwater Revival.  

Somehow, nature has rained away the ice. It isn't over yet but the lake is starting to break up. There has been lots of rain and little sun. Whatever.

The lake might be opening but the highways are stiff iffy. Lots of road closures due to flooding.

Red Lake itself is at or near flood stage as seen in the photos.

I plan to head to Red Lake next weekend, giving the ice more time to bash itself to pieces on the lake and road crews a chance to work on the highways.

It looks unlikely ice gone by opening day

 We got the warm rain that turned the ice black but we still need clear, sunny, hot days to melt it. Instead it has been cloudy. I'm back to thinking ice-out will be May 22, maybe even later. A rip-roaring wind could do the trick but that is something we seldom see in the spring. 

It is still possible, however. You must realize all of us here are pretty jaded when it comes to optimism about the weather after the winter we just had.

Now many people in Northwestern Ontario have bigger problems on their hands than just a late ice-out. There is flooding occurring everywhere. Highway 105 has been closed for about a week with multiple washouts. At this moment cars can get through but not transports.

Dams and bridges are under threat. States of emergencies have been declared in many towns, including Red Lake. Just upstream from Thunder Bay in Stanley the Kaministiquia River, the largest river in the region, is spilling over its banks and threatening homes. Two large islands in the center of the river at the Stanley Bridge are underwater. 

I expect the Whitefish River in Nolalu to overtop Old Mill Road where we live tonight. It is already flooding downstream at Hymers. Whitefish Valley School there was let out early today due to the threat ening water level. We will be fine at our house. We are located about 100 feet above the river.

All of this is caused by the exceptional snow depth we had last winter, then the rapid warming starting in May and finally, storms that are bringing an inch or two of rain every couple of days.

How fast ice-out under ideal conditions?

 

Zoom.Earth, about an hour ago.

Highway 105 at Caribou Creek yesterday. Sherry McCoy photo

The spring melt didn't start until May, exactly one month later than usual, but the weather has been making up for being a stinker in April. We couldn't ask for better conditions -- lots of heat that led to a rapid melt of the snowpack. 

That has created problems with flooding all over the place. Just witness what happened to Highway 105. The normal tiny Caribou Creek about 20 miles south of Red Lake turned into a raging river, overwhelming the culvert under the road and creating a massive washout a couple of days ago. This has left the town stranded although crews thought they would have it fixed today.

There might be reason to think it will take longer. A massive storm is heading for the region today bringing an inch or more of rain along with possible winds up to 80 km-h. That could be bad news for the repair but it would be good news for ice-out on lakes. ** UPDATE ** The highway was re-opened late last night but then another washout further north closed it again. It is expected to be fixed by tonight.

To put things in perspective, there is a LOT of ice to melt. I know of two people who were ice-fishing last week. The temperature was wonderful -- there were butterflies flitting around -- but they were sitting on 30-36 inches of ice.

In Thunder Bay, although the snow has disappeared from people's yards, families went downhill skiing  on Mother's Day. That is a first.

But getting back to ice-out on Red Lake, the rapid snow melting will have sent so much water into the lake that it will have risen a great deal, breaking the ice away from shorelines. This gives the sun dark water to warm around the edges. It also means the ice pack can shift with the wind. When it does the ice will crush against the rocks. Finally, heavy rain followed by warm sun is death to lake ice. And that is exactly what is in the forecast.

Before these developments I was skeptical if the ice could be gone by opening day of fishing, May 21. I now think it is possible, that is, if the weather prediction comes true.

In today's weather warning the weather office notes that the storm, currently over North Dakota, could weaken as it moves over the cold Northwestern Ontario lakes. The warm temperatures for the rest of the week are still forecast.

I am really impressed by Zoom.Earth and its near-real-time satellite images. In particular, when forest fire season finally starts, you can click on its fire icon and see the active heat-producing spots, instead of looking at fire maps that show where the fire has been.

Notable dates from Canada's snow capital

 May 4 and the last of the snow has disappeared off the roof. Does this mean the endless winter has ended?

April 26, I put the snow tires back on the car after the latest, nightly, snowfall.

March 21, after a week of above-freezing temperatures the snow has melted a lot. Then came three more feet in April.

What does this mean for ice-out at Red Lake? Not a darn thing.

Nolalu was the snow capital of Canada this year. We may have tripled or quadrupled our normal precipitation. Red Lake wasn't in the Banana Belt but at least it wasn't like this.

Blue skies and cozy temperatures are in the offing for both places. I still think ice-out up there is likely around May 22. Around here? No idea.