February 22, 2021 By Keith Norrington
After years of a relative respite from severe winters, it appears that icy times have returned. Unlike the Upper Mississippi River where, owing to ice harbors, coves and other safe places, mariners in cold climates take icy conditions in stride, the Ohio River has never been well equipped to handle it; especially in steamboat days.
According to record, one of the worst ice blockages on the Ohio occurred in the 1850s, when the river completely froze and remained closed to traffic for 57 days.
As most river historians agree, the most damaging ice situation of all time, on both the Mississippi and Ohio, happened during the winter of 1918. With most of the steamboats still being wooden-hulled, the razor-sharp ice virtually sawed hulls off at the waterlines. As the ice piled up on main decks, it either sank the boat from the excessive weight or crushed the upper works.