Back in December, some unique circumstances caused an odd stratification of temperatures above the still-open waters on Lake Mendota. With the water keeping air near its surface right around 32 Fahrenheit, but an Arctic blast bringing quite cold temperatures into town, conditions were ripe for a rare winter mirage.
Luckily, a local lake-lover snapped some photos and the folks at Friends of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve wrote an explanation of the phenomenon. Read about the fascinating physics behind the mirage here!