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Warming Temperatures Signal Pending Release of Delaware River Ice

By Mike Dougherty

TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- All that ice in the Delaware River near Trenton (see related story) has to go somewhere eventually.  As temperatures climb into the 40s and higher, the massive ice chunks will begin to break loose and start making their way south.

What happens then?

"Well, it's going to release a lot of water all at once when it goes," says one local tugboat operator.

Croft Register, with Express Marine, in Camden, NJ, has been working with tugs on the Delaware River for 17 years.

"It's going to stack the ice up, and it's going to come down probably as one large chunk, and  it's going to carry a lot of weight and a lot of force with it," he said today.

There are already restrictions in place on which boats are allowed to travel in the river.  Register says it will be quite a sight to see, but anyone watching should keep a safe distance from the river.

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