Monitors on watch as Hay River prepares for spring river breakup

It's (almost)that time of year.

Every spring in the South Slave region of the Northwest Territories,the frozen Hay River shatters like cracked glass and giant shards of ice scrape along the riverbank en route to the mouth of Great Slave Lake. That,in turn, sets up breakup along the Mackenzie River.

For years, Red McBryan, was the "go-to" person for astonishingly accurate predictions about when the ice would move and if there would be flooding.

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Now,that's the job of Ross Potter, director of Protective Services for the Town of Hay River.

"This year I'm seeing higher than normal snow levels in some areasand lower snow loads in others, so it's hard to say," Potter said.

The river is still frozen solid, with both ice crossings to the K'atl'odeeche reserve open as of Friday.

Based on previous years, and current nighttime temperatures dipping below zero,Potter said the ice probably won't start moving until the end of April.

The river has a history of flooding, although it's been almost a decade since residents in Old Town and West Channel had to be evacuated.

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Potter said several factors increase the chance of floodingmost notably high water levels, thick ice, snow loadsand pressure ridges.

Potter said it's too soon to predict if there will be flooding this year, but he understands why people are so interested.

"In some years, you will see huge pans of ice breaking up and getting thrown in the air. It is really something to see and listen to. And other years it goes really quietly and can be quite mundane," Potter said.

Potter and his crew were wiping off solar panels and a camera at Alexandra Falls, just outside of Enterprise, this week.

The monitoring site is one of four remote stations along a 40-kilometrestretch of river leading to Great Slave Lake. The sites are at Alexandra Falls, Pine Point Bridge, Paradise Valley and the West Point Bridge. Still photos are taken every 15 minutesand posted to the town's website, along with temperature and ice thickness taken from an ultrasonic sensor.

But it's not just Potter and the stations that are the eyes and ears of breakup.

"Volunteers are a huge part of this," Potter said. "They are out there at all hours of the night, watching water levels and making sure the residents in Old Town and West Channel are safe by keeping us informed."

Photos and ice data are already on the town's website, and Potter said the town will also provide regular updates on Facebook.