An ice jam on a portion of the Erie Canal in Oneida County could cause potential problems if it's not cleared. Our Joleene Des Rosiers has more on a phenomenon that has a lot of people stopping to take a closer look.
To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.
Then come back here and refresh the page.
SYLVAN BEACH, N.Y. -- Very few things can stop one from getting out of their car on a bitter cold day on the lake. But this is an exception.
"Just driving back from the VA in Rome and decided to come down and see how much ice was on the lake and take a couple of pictures," said Canastota resident George Tolle.
"We were coming back from Oneida and we looked over the bridge and saw all the debris and ice all frozen up like this and came to see it up close," said Cleveland resident Nathaniel Kellogg.
It's an ice jam and it's not incredibly unusual. Tree debris suggests a previous wind or snow storm may be the culprit.
Water and land resource expert Peter Black of SUNY ESF says all it takes is a little something to cause a big problem.
"Something else gets jammed in there, in the narrows under the bridge. Or any other part of the channel for that matter. And all it takes is for ice to start forming, either because there's some debris in there, some vegetation, maybe that's been washed out. Could be a big fish! But something that starts the ice forming. But once it starts, it'll continue to form and grow," Black said.
"There is a lot of boats that dock in here and that would cause a problem getting caught up on the boats and trying to go through here with the boats. I imagine they'd have to do some kind of clean up in the spring," Kellogg said.
So an interesting picture now, but only time will tell what the next snapshot will yield.
Just when and if the jam will be broken down and removed anytime soon remains to be seen.
Phone calls to the Sylvan Beach mayor, fire department and department of public works were not returned.