I've found
the NOAA snow and ice charts to be pretty interesting, especially as a New Zealander I underestimated just how long snow and ice persisted in the northern US and Canada. It's kind of fun to watch an animation of a few years as the snow accumulates then retreats.
Now for a pretty basic question: Canada's Hudson Bay seems to freeze over after snow has accumulated in the surrounding latitudes, but much ice remains for quite a long time after the last snow at similar latitudes has melted. Why is this? Is it simply a matter of the depth of the water making the ice thick enough that it takes a long time to fully melt? Like would a giant frozen puddle melt at a similar rate to snow? Or are salinity and/or physical properties of ice versus snow major factors?