Lake Koshkonong's icecap disappears

NOTE: The official ice out date is March 22.
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Fromt the Jefferson County Daily Union

KOSHKONONG - Lake Koshkonong's icecap disappeared early Monday morning, marking the fourth time since records were first kept in 1920 that the ice went out on March 23.

"The icecap disappeared overnight," a veteran lake watcher reported Monday afternoon. "I guess what's left is piled in between Carcajou and Logan points. A part of the icecap is still floating. It's black and honeycombed and doesn't look very thick. The waves are beating on it pretty good."

The other three years in which the lake ice broke up on March 23 were 1953, 1964 and 1985.

Until 2001, the Daily Union's records dated back to only 1947. However, in 2002, they were combined with those of three longtime Koshkonong-area families who have been keeping track of the meltdown since 1920.

Those records show that in the past 89 years, the earliest the icecap has gone out has been Feb. 25, 1998, and the latest, on April 15, 1972. Last year, it disappeared on April 7.

Not surprisingly, mid-April has seen the most meltdowns since 1920. April 4 is a favorite date, as the icecap has gone out on that day six times: in 1925, 1944, 1950, 1970, 1980 and 1989.

Tied for second with five years each are April 6 in 1920, 1924, 1929, 1935 and 1962 and March 27 in 1936, 1941, 1949, 1961 and 1994.

Two other dates tie March 23 to claim third place in the ice-out "race": April 1 in 1934, 1943, 1958 and 1984, and April 8 in 1928, 1946, 1959 and 1971.

With lakes and rivers hovering at or just above flood stage, the icecap's disappearance is a good thing. In the past, it has held back water flowing from the north, boosting floodwaters in the North Shore and Blackhawk Island areas west of Fort Atkinson.