It was a weird weather winter in Muskoka indeed. What was a winter wonderland promptly exited in advance of Family Day Wknd (mid February) and it’s been mixed bagged ever since. Now sitting on the ‘will it flood fence’ with mere hours until we find out we have to highlight their efforts this season, but first recall the following:
- We told you how they decide to draw down here last year and that date being March 15th
- Remember the facts of seasons past here and add to it that last year was a colossal disaster of damage here
- Facts about whats been going on since major flood 2013
- The numbers where flood comes into effect on our dock is either 384″ or 9.75m
This was what winter 2015/2016 looked like for quick reference 
This is what this winter (2016/2017) now looks like
Should Lake Muskoka actually flood you definitely can’t claim that the MNR did nothing for if you look at that trusty March 15th date year over year you’ll see last year they did nothing (but hey, there was no snow in Bracebridge so they were right!)
This year however, the snow pack dropping from a whooping 4 or 5ft to 2 ft at the end of February either must have tipped them off or looking outside and noticing rain, because on March 15th they swiftly flooded the Moon River and drew down like mad. Anyone with a radio and Moose FM can back this up with their flood warnings every 10 minutes lol.
For the 9.5″ that went in 7.5″ quickly went out; thankfully, but was it enough?! That’s the million dollar question now but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: measuring the snow pack at March 15th in Bracebridge is useless when we’re located downstream from Algonquin park where the rivershed starts. Needless to say if flood 2017 becomes a reality, its inevitable that each cottager should kick in $0.01 to a go fund me campaign and to splurge for a car ride including gas, use of an Iphone camera and a measuring tape and take 2 MNR staff round tip to Algonquin park on March 15, 2018 to measure snow pack to set precedent for years to come.
Where are We Now?
Well now is Monday, April 10th and it’s 2pm.
Facts:
The ice started leaving Lake Muskoka on Friday April 6th. While there are still a few icebergs floating around this is what Lake Muskoka looks like now from Walkers Point to Browning Island. (read: the ice is gone, the lake is calm)
The temperatures have also dramatically risen this weekend so the bush around Lake Muskoka looks like this now (read: little snow)
Last week the lake went up about 6″ to 365″ (ish)
Over the weekend it went up an additional 10″ and currently sits around the 375.5″ mark
The short term weather forecast looks to account for an additional 0.5 to 1″, after which it should be clear sailing
And I still see snow on the forest floor in Algonquin Park on their web cam here.
Verdict: with 8.5″ of wiggle room to the top of the dock all we can say this afternoon is it’s going to be close!
Watch our instagram, facebook and twitter feeds for live updates, but don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns about your property (before or after the fact)
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