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8. Ice Conditions in the Szczecin Lagoon and Pomeranian Bay in the Winter of 
2001/02 
The winter of 2001/02 was generally too mild, like the four winter seasons preceding it. With respect 
to the length of the ice season and ice thickness measured in the coastal waters of Mecklenburg- 
Vorpommern, the ice winter of 2001/02 has to be classified as very mild. 
Meteorological conditions in the 2001/02 winter period (information from Deutscher Wetterdienst - 
German Weather Service) 
November 2001 
At the beginning of the month, mild maritime air prevailed over North Germany. Daily maximum tem 
peratures in the area of Szczecin Lagoon rose to 12 °C. On 5 November, a strong anticyclone devel 
oped over the East Atlantic which moved slowly toward Great Britain around the middle of the month. It 
did not dissolve until the beginning of the last decade. Low pressure prevailed temporarily over Eastern 
Europe, causing a northwesterly air flow over Central Europe which repeatedly brought cold Arctic air 
and only short spells with inflows of milder maritime air. At a monthly mean temperature of 4.2 °C in 
Ueckermunde, November in the coastal regions of Vorpommern was 0.2 °Ktoo cold. 
December 2001 
Until 4 December, cold continental air flowed into Eastern Germany at the edge of a strong anticy- 
clonic system over the Ural. Light freezing temperatures were recorded at night, and air temperatures 
during the day hardly rose above 0 °C. On 5 December, mild maritime air began to flow in from the 
west and determined the weather for three days, after which the wind veered N, then E, initiating a 
frost period. With brief interruptions, it brought a cold and dry spell lasting from 8 to 24 December. In 
the last decade of the month, the weather in the area of the boundary waters was determined by a NW 
weather regime with abundant snowfall. At a monthly mean temperature of 0.1 °C, December in the 
area of Szczecin Lagoon was 1 °K too cold. 
January 2002 
In the first two weeks of January, the weather in Germany was influenced mainly by anticyclonic 
systems which brought cold winter weather in the first half of the month. In the area of Szczecin La 
goon, freezing temperatures were recorded almost every night until 18 January. On 4 January, an inflow 
of cold continental air from the east and the absence of cloud cover due to anticyclonic conditions 
caused the air temperatures over snow in Ueckermunde to drop as low as -11 °C during the night. Until 
the middle of the month, daily air temperatures were mostly below zero. From 17 January, Atlantic low- 
pressure troughs brought milder air. The highest daily temperatures at the end of the month ranged be 
tween 11 and 13 °C. January 2002 in the area of Szczecin Lagoon generally was about 3 °K too mild. 
Despite clearly above-average air temperatures, the surface temperature of the coastal waters of Meck 
lenburg-Vorpommern still was more than 1 °K too cold in mid-January (LUNG, 2002). 
February 2002 
The extremely mild SW weather regime in Central Europe since late January persisted until mid- 
February, causing far too mild weather in the area of the boundary waters. On 13 February, maritime 
Arctic air began to flow into central Europe between an anticyclone over the British Isles and an east 
ward tracking cyclone over the Baltic States, and night frosts were again recorded in Ueckermunde 
after about 3,5 weeks of mild weather. Until 21 February, more cyclones travelled from South Green 
land to the Baltic, trailing an inflow of maritime Arctic air into the areas under review. Despite freezing 
temperatures at night, the daily mean temperatures in the area of Szczecin Lagoon were mostly posi 
tive. In the last decade of February, low pressure over Scandinavia led to a mild westerly regime. In 
Ueckermunde, the monthly mean temperature in February was 4.8 °C. Compared to the long-term 
mean, February 2002 thus was 5 °C too mild in the area of the boundary waters. 
The average surface temperature of the inner coastal waters was more than 2 °K too high.