Just When I...

...think I should leave this global warming/cooling thing alone, along comes news like this:

Weather statement issued for Halifax, extreme-cold warnings in effect for parts of Nova Scotia

Toronto sees record low temperature

Texas, Louisiana brace for ice as bitter winter drags on

Canadian Coast Guard Works To Free Ship

"The Canadian Coast Guard is working to break free the motor vessel Arthur M Anderson, which is beset in ice near Conneaut Harbour. The Griffon, stationed in Prescott, is a 234-foot, multi-mission, medium icebreaker.

The Coast Guard Cutter Bristol Bay, a 140-foot, ice-breaking tug, home-ported in Detroit, had previously attempted to assist the vessel, but encountered ice too thick for it to break." (Emphasis mine)

Canadian ship frees freighter from icy Lake Erie off NE Ohio

Shipping freighter stuck in frozen Lake Erie freed after five days


Coldest Night of the Year raises awareness of homeless in Edmonton, across Canada
91 locations across Canada hosting Coldest Night of the Year Walks

Windchill offsets warmer temps today

Under Thick Coating, an Icebreaking Ship Uncovers the Hudson

Canadian Coast Guard coming in to help free stuck freighter

Canadian Coast Guard called in to help free trapped ship

"The Anderson was en route to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, when it was beset. It's not clear how long the Anderson has been trapped, but the Bristol Bay has been battling the ice for so long, it ran out of food. 45 kg of food was airdropped to the cutter on Thursday night.

The Arthur M. Anderson has a Canadian connection: It was the last ship to make contact with the Edmund Fitzgerald, before it was lost on Lake Superior in 1975.

It's not the only trapped ship. The Windsor Star reports the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley is working to free a ship stuck in the St. Clair River.

That ice isn't getting any thinner. At 96 per cent, Lake Erie is currently the most iced-over of the Great Lakes, and has more ice cover now than it did at the same time last year."