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) …
Madison lakes
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 …
Guest Post: How Madison’s Lakes Came to Be
Holding History, a UW-Madison-based project, helps students explore how cultural knowledge is made and preserved and share what they learn with broader audiences. Their series, Water Lines, is produced by 2019 Trout Lake Station summer …
Guest Post: Why Lake Mendota is Both First (and Fourth) in the Yahara Chain of Lakes
Holding History, a UW-Madison-based project, helps students explore how cultural knowledge is made and preserved and share what they learn with broader audiences. Their series, Water Lines, is produced by 2019 Trout Lake Station summer …
Learn Your Lakes: Spring Runoff and Nutrient Loading
This weekend, my family and I went on a drive. These days, any chance to leave the house while still practicing safe social distancing feels like a blessing and this drive felt especially so. There …
Learn Your Lakes: Spring Turnover
Here in Wisconsin, like a lot of places, we are waiting for the reliably warm days of Spring. In the meantime, we’re seeing a lot of days with persistent, chilly winds. Stowing the winter gear …
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 …