Lake Ontario Temps

[Gill-T]

To date, Lake Ontario is the warmest it has ever been for this time of year. Chart is from last week. 
 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Gill-T

[GAMBLER]

Our intake temp has been running about 3-5 degrees colder than last years for the past two weeks.  

[Gill-T]

Yes, I am sure there has been some turnover after the major wind events lately. Six feet of snow runoff in Buffalo has had to have an effect on temps. All the creeks around here are raging 

[GAMBLER]

Taking our intake temps for the 30 days of November in 2020, 2021 and 2022, I averaged the temp for each day (we take intake temps every 2 hours every day), adding up all the days temps and finding the average temp for each November, I came up with the following data:

November 2020 - average temp 49.9 degrees

November 2021 - average temp 51.3 degrees

November 2022 - average temp 49.7 degrees.  

 

I will get this onto a graph when I have time.  

[GAMBLER]

I just ran November of 2019 and the average temp was 47.1 degrees for the month.  

[GAMBLER]

[Gill-T]

Nice!  Getting warm again Saturday. I am always hopeful for early king season. 

[GAMBLER]

13 minutes ago, Gill-T said:

Nice!  Getting warm again Saturday. I am always hopeful for early king season. 

Me too!  Hopefully early kings and a good survival for the YOY alewife!

[schreckstoff]

Show the eastern end too! 

[Gill-T]

No

[Gill-T]

[schreckstoff]

I’m a Coastwatch fan and would have said it’s a hot fall but I rely on the #s Gambler and colleagues record and report  as being the most accurate on the lake. His graph says we are cold, like 2019. I was thinking it was a ‘warm’ fall air temp wise but the  south winds have been crazy strong, tamales sense that those winds ‘should’ blow the warmest water out and let the coldest water in. The south shore embayment temps have been surprisingly cold given the air temps. 
 

 

[schreckstoff]

The bays are waaay colder than that figure suggests. Is that the FVCOM prediction!

[schreckstoff]

Nvm, I’m dumb, they are satellite from 11/20. I still put the most stock in the Monroe Co. #s, thanks BG for posting them. 
 

#letsgobuffalo

 

 

[Gill-T]

For the YOY alewives the offshore water temp is the most important IMO. I have been out there in January during a warm winter and we found the coast watch temp transects maps accurately depicted the warmest water was over the deepest parts of the lake. The Rochester intake is inshore. 

[GAMBLER]

8 hours ago, schreckstoff said:

I’m a Coastwatch fan and would have said it’s a hot fall but I rely on the #s Gambler and colleagues record and report  as being the most accurate on the lake. His graph says we are cold, like 2019. I was thinking it was a ‘warm’ fall air temp wise but the  south winds have been crazy strong, tamales sense that those winds ‘should’ blow the warmest water out and let the coldest water in. The south shore embayment temps have been surprisingly cold given the air temps. 
 

 

Actually, strong South winds at this time of the year brings warm water in.  If the surface has been cooled by cold temps and strong West or NW winds, the South will draw warmer water in.  You can see on the graph how the temp dropped and then rebounded.  That drop was from the cold snap and winds around opening day of gun season.  We had some SW winds and South winds and a warm up and the temps rebounded.  Totally different once the water cools and the density of the water are closer together.  It's amazing to watch how easy temps change in July and August when the temp is in the 70's on top and 39 on the bottom.  The slightest wind changes and temps change drastically.  In the winter when temps are very close top to bottom, it takes huge winds to change temps.  Constant W / NW winds all winter sometimes sends our intake temps as cold as 33 degrees.  Switch that wind around to strong South for a couple days and the temp will rise to 37 degrees or possibly more.  Strong NE will also bring warm water in during the dead of winter.  It's not as drastic as a strong South but it does change things.   I will do graphs for December, January, February, March, April and then an overall as they go by to see how we match up to other winters.   

[Gill-T]

Brian, this makes sense as everything -water is upside down in the winter

[Gill-T]

Really interesting is that the coast watch link I sent just updated within the thread lol. Temps showing are current and I did not edit anything. ??

[schreckstoff]

That does make sense, good call.

[LongLine]

Upstate Freshwater Institute recorded hydrodynamic data at Oak Orchard, Sodus & Oswego from May thru Oct 2022 by utilizing buoys owned by SUNY ESF with grants from DEC & GLRC.   Although they have a lot of data on Onondaga, they have interesting data on Lake Ontario.  Oak & Oswego buoys were in 66-71 FOW and measured from top to bottom.  

 

Their website:
https://upstatefreshwater.org/NRT-Data/Lake-Ontario-Data/lake-ontario-data.html

The temp regimes/history they show are:

 

 

On some days, temps at depth are very similar in both places, yet on other days there is a big difference in temps at depth, hence "hot spots" and "cold spots." 

 

Point being that without a series of temp probes around the lake it's near impossible to scientifically say the lake, in general is warmer or colder. 

Anecdotally, I had to go to a greater FOW to catch salmon this year than in past years.  (But that was just west of the Genny and where fewer alewife showed up in the preyfish surveys.)

 

Brian - I'd really like to see that data.  It's a lot closer to where I usually fish.
 

[GAMBLER]

13 hours ago, LongLine said:

Upstate Freshwater Institute recorded hydrodynamic data at Oak Orchard, Sodus & Oswego from May thru Oct 2022 by utilizing buoys owned by SUNY ESF with grants from DEC & GLRC.   Although they have a lot of data on Onondaga, they have interesting data on Lake Ontario.  Oak & Oswego buoys were in 66-71 FOW and measured from top to bottom.  

 

Their website:
https://upstatefreshwater.org/NRT-Data/Lake-Ontario-Data/lake-ontario-data.html

The temp regimes/history they show are:

 

 

On some days, temps at depth are very similar in both places, yet on other days there is a big difference in temps at depth, hence "hot spots" and "cold spots." 

 

Point being that without a series of temp probes around the lake it's near impossible to scientifically say the lake, in general is warmer or colder. 

Anecdotally, I had to go to a greater FOW to catch salmon this year than in past years.  (But that was just west of the Genny and where fewer alewife showed up in the preyfish surveys.)

 

Brian - I'd really like to see that data.  It's a lot closer to where I usually fish.
 

I will be posting the data after each month goes by and then an overall for the winter.  I think the data is easier to see trends in the winter when the water is only a couple degrees difference.  Most winters, there is a very short window when temps get below 37 degrees,. Long cold winters (2014 2015) the temps were 33-34 degrees for a long time. 

[LongLine]

Found this on the Coastwatch site for surface temps.   Nov. shows same drop that your graph does.  (Cool!)  Also that Jan thru May 2022 were warmer than many years prior.

 

[GAMBLER]

1 minute ago, LongLine said:

Found this on the Coastwatch site for surface temps.   Nov. shows same drop that your graph does.  (Cool!)  Also that Jan thru May 2022 were warmer than many years prior.

 

I will have to look back and see which winter it was but there was a winter that we only got below 37 degrees for a couple of days.  I believe it was the 2011-2012 or 2012-2013 winter.

[Bozeman Bob]

On 12/1/2022 at 8:45 AM, Gill-T said:

Yes, I am sure there has been some turnover after the major wind events lately. Six feet of snow runoff in Buffalo has had to have an effect on temps. All the creeks around here are raging 

  Hardly a drop in the bucket and it all ran into running creeks that were warm  or storm drains , that dump into the warm creeks . Like putting one ice cube in hot water in a bathtub and saying that will cool it off . Mother nature will self correct. Last year someone put up a post about it not being frozen over in January. Yep it froze over a week or so later . 

Edited December 9, 2022 by Bozeman Bob

[Smat64]

Cool to see the early cold October then the warm up into November. 
 

im ready for some ice.