Ice formation on Georgian Bay is very dynamic. Some years the bay freezes over entirely, and some years it doesn’t. Wind can move ice in the open part of the bay from one location to another in very short periods of time. Historical ice coverage can be plotted from the Canadian Ice Service site: https://iceweb1.cis.ec.gc.ca/IceGraph/page1.xhtml. In sheltered bays such as Severn Sound, ice forms more predictably, and behaves more like it would on an inland lake. In Severn Sound, more ice records exist indicating ice-off rather than ice-on. Records exist for Hogg Bay going back to 2000, and show that ice forms on average around mid-December. Since 2000, ice has formed as early as Nov 23 (2009) and as late as January 13 (2007). To submit your ice observations for Severn Sound or any of the inland lakes in the surrounding watershed through the Severn Sound Environmental Association’s Ice Spotters citizen science program, visit http://bit.ly/sseacit-sci.
You can follow the progress of ice formation on Georgian Bay using these links:
Satellite photo for each Great Lake: https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.php?region=h&page=1
Canadian Ice Service (Great Lakes ice coverage): https://iceweb1.cis.ec.gc.ca/Prod/page2.xhtml?CanID=11080&lang=en
Township of Tay Webcam (view of Hogg Bay and open Severn Sound): https://www.tay.ca/en/explore-tay/Tower-Cam.asp?_mid_=19924
Delawana Resort Webcam: https://delawanaresort.ca/webcam.htm
Honey Harbour Boat Club Webcam: https://www.hhbc.ca/