It’s official! Just as we were waking up from ringing in the New Year, the Wisconsin State Climatology Office declared January 1, 2026 as the date that Lake Mendota officially froze for the 2025/26 winter …
lake ice
Be Careful on Frozen Lakes – Especially During “Shoulder Season”
Yesterday evening as sunset was casting a rosy pink band of light across the frozen surface of Lake Monona near Olbrich Park, two people skated across its newly frozen surface. This morning, a semi-frozen Lake …
Recent News A Stark Reminder That No Ice Is 100% Safe
Last Saturday, with temperatures hovering in the mid-teens, an experienced ice-angler died when his ATV broke through the ice on Lake Waubesa. A few days prior, a woman walking her dog fell through the ice …
Where Does Lake Mendota’s 2022 Christmas Freeze Fall in Historic Ice Records?
For fans of ice fishing, ice skating, cross-country skiing and just enjoying a winter walk, this holiday season was especially timely. One year ago today, Lake Mendota was still making waves and waiting on its …
January Freeze Dates Becoming the Norm for Madison Lakes
When Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin froze over a few days after New Year’s Eve, it marked the beginning of “ice season,” a time of year when (once the ice gets thick enough, of course) …
Winter in Wisconsin: Life on Ice
For those of us lucky enough to live where our lakes freeze in the winter, one of the true joys of the season is getting out on the ice. Suddenly, a space that was only …
Why Do We Say Lake Mendota is Frozen Before it’s Fully Frozen?
This weekend, the Center for Limnology Twitter account was tagged in a post from the UW Department of Emergency Medicine’s chief flight physician and pilot, Mike Abernethy, who had been flying a helicopter over Lake …
Where Does Lake Mendota’s Freeze Date Fall in Historic Average?
In case you missed the news, Lake Mendota was officially deemed “frozen” by the Wisconsin State Climatology Office on Sunday. That January 3rd “ice on” date is about two weeks later than the median freeze …
Will Madison’s Lakes Get Ice for Christmas?
If you’ve been checking the forecast for Christmas Eve here in Wisconsin, you’ve no doubt seen that a bit of a cold snap is on its way. While the past several days have hovered just …
Madison Lakes Now Ice-Free, Open for Spring
Another year, another ice-off for Madison’s lakes. Yesterday, the Wisconsin State Climatology office – specifically Ed Hopkins (you should read this great write-up in the Wisconsin State Journal) – officially declared the surface of Lake …