Lake Koshkonong ice 'officially' out Thursday

KOSHKONONG - Lake Koshkonong's icecap went out Thursday, marking the fourth time since records were first kept in 92 years that it disappeared on March 8. "On March 8, Lake Kosh­ko­nong was open on all except the far shoreline by Koshkonong Mounds," a veteran lake watcher reported this morning. He noted that on Wednesday, the rain and wind had pushed ice along the North Shore area, but that when the front shifted, it pushed what was left onto the northeastern shore of the lake.  "It's subjective, but I took a trip completely around the lake and it was open water everywhere except by the Mounds," he said. "We didn't have a lot of ice this year; the southwestern wind and rain on Wednesday did it in. The other years that the icecap melted on March 8 were 1921, 1975, and 1983. 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 the 1920 flood. Those records show that in the past nine decades, the earliest the icecap has gone out has been on Feb. 25, 1998, and the latest, on April 15, 1972. Last year, it disappeared on March 24. 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, as well as March 27 in 1936, 1941, 1949, 1961 and 1994.  Six other dates tie March 8 with four years each to claim third place in the ice-out "race": March 23 in 1953, 1964, 1985 and 2009; March 24 in 1939, 1945, 1977 and 2011; March 25 in 1927, 1968, 2007 and 2010; April 1 in 1934, 1943, 1958 and 1984; April 7 in 1922, 1942, 2001 and 2008, and April 8 in 1928, 1946, 1959 and 1971.