Ice out was very early this year. Official ice watcher Frank Kuchevar officially declared Ice Out occurring on March 22, 2012. In 2010 ice out was March 30, also quite early. For historical interest, Black Oak Lake has been observing ice out for 104 years. Based on the method used historically to determine ice out, March 20 was ice out date this year. The previous Black Oak Lake Ice Out record was March 27, 1945. The criteria used on Black Oak Lake was when the main lake is clear from the beach to the sandbar in the West Bay. It is likely that this method will change for Black Oak in the future to no ice found anywhere which is the same method we have used on Moon Lake. That is why this years ice out date is sooner on Black Oak Lake than on Moon Lake.
The following is a report from Dale Sharpe, our water quality guru.
Historic Ice Out?
Dale Sharpee
Moon Lake was ice free as of March 22rd. This may be the earliest date that ice out has occurred in recent history. The unseasonably warm weather that was experienced in mid-March produced the conditions that led to this early ice out date. If you check the Weather Tab at Moonlake.org, you will see that daily high temperatures exceeded 50 degrees and that the daily lows did not fall below 29 degrees for the 11 days preceding the 23rd.
The broad geographic scope of the March heat wave that has taken place in the Mississippi Valley region of the U. S., along with the margins by which records have been broken, the time of year that this is occurring, and the duration of the heat wave are all indications that this may be an unprecedented event since modern United States meterological records began to be recorded in the late 19th century.
The lake level at the gauge was 2.52 feet on March 21st. This is essentially the same reading as at the time of ice over on November 30th – 2.54 feet. The Leap Day snow storm helped to maintain the water level over the winter. Now April showers are needed not only to bring May flowers but also to stabilize the water level of Moon Lake.
Here is a historical summary since 2005 of the water level recorded at the time that Moon Lake was declared to be ice free:
Year Level (ft.)
2005 4.28
2006 4.24
2007 3.75
2008 2.56
2009 1.94
2010 1.16
2011 2.79
2012 2.54
The Moon Lake Riparian Association has enrolled in the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program for 2012. This will be the 18th year that the Association has participated in this Program. John Sick, Bob Turnquist, and I will be involved in taking samples of lake water for the measurement of phosphorus and chlorophyll-a as well as recording water clarity and surface water temperature. The spring phosphorus sampling will be done between April 26th and April 30th. We strive to record the water clarity and surface water temperatures on a weekly basis. Usually we do not begin to do this until early May. This year we may try to begin this in April.
Photos
Dave Pinkawa submitted more photos which have been posted to the web site. Check out the photos by selecting the “Photos” tab.