A massive low-pressure system in western Ontario is creating storm conditions that could be stronger than the infamous “Edmund Fitzgerald” storm of 1975 and very similar to those in November of 1998. With arctic winds coming down from Canada behind the front, blizzard conditions are expected in the Dakotas on Wednesday and a major migration event is expected to occur over the next few days.
Hello folks, and, as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
While areas on the eastern side of the front will experience record high temperatures through the end of the week, a blizzard is expected to dump snow in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region of the Dakotas during the next 48-hours and ignite the first hard push of migration activity this season.
Storm conditions are very similar to those experienced in 1998, when migrating birds where push to the eastern edge of their migration paths and hunters in the western Mississippi Flyway were graced with a volume of prairie waterfowl. As we monitor this storm system and the flights of birds that are expected to be moving on this arctic winds, we remind hunters that storm conditions will be extremely dangerous over the next few days and all precautions should be taken when heading to the field.
Sadly, each season we end up reporting on the tragedies of waterfowl hunting accidents and the loss of fellow duck hunters. The body of a duck hunter was recovered today from the Mississippi River just north of St. Louis after his boat capsized on the river on Monday. While the young man’s hunting partner made it to the safety of an island, he did not. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family of 25-year-old Kristopher Van Meter during these difficult times and we continue to remind our readers to please use extreme caution and err to the side of safety when faced with hazardous conditions in the field.
Waterfowler.com would like to thank our members in the north states for the excellent reporting this season – it has been both informative and extremely entertaining. For the states that are lagging in activity we remind our readers that posting activity is like a snowball rolling down hill and one post is all it takes to get the ball rolling. So step up and post your reports today.
PACIFIC FLYWAY:
Limited migration activity in the Pacific Northwest is best along the river corridors at this time. Hunter success on reservoirs is fair at this time with puddle duck numbers below average for this time of year. Duck numbers from the Klamath Basin to the Sacramento Valley fair to good for this time of year with goose numbers slightly below average.
CENTRAL FLYWAY:
Blizzard conditions will develop in the Dakota’s over the next fourty-eight hours and set off the first major migration event of the season. Temperatures in North Dakota are expected to hover just below freezing over the nest few days as the cold front passes through. The difficult hunting conditions that have persisted in North Dakota should improve as flights of mallards begin to arrive from Canada, however snow accumulation could result in a massive flyby to states further south. Duck numbers are expected to increase dramatically in Nebraska, Colorado and Oklahoma over the next few days as green-winged-teal, gadwall, widgeon, and pintail are driven south by the storm. Whether mallards move beyond South Dakota will be specifically determined by the amount of snow accumulation northern prairies.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWWAY:
Migration activity in the north portion of the flyway has been good to excellent on a number of species over the past week and expectations for excellent activity for the coming week are running high. The low-pressure system that is centered over southwestern Ontario is the kind of storm Great Lakes Waterfowler’s dream about. In short, it will be “game on” the upper Mississippi Flyway over the next week with activity and conditions similar to the 1998 season that was simply tremendous. Waterfowler.com stresses hunters to take extreme caution when heading to the field during dangerous storm conditions.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY:
As the storm system moves to the northeastern part of the country this weekend, hunting conditions and migration activity is expected to increase in the New England States. While temperatures are currently well above average for most of the states on the eastern side of the jet-stream, cooler temperatures are expected to return in the coming week. Diver numbers are expected to increase in the northern portion of the flyway during the coming week, as migration activity increases.
As we track this first dramatic migration event of the season, we look forward to reading your reports and encourage our readers to post often.
Until next week, hunt safe and hunt often.
