More Winter

March 18th through 24th, 2024

Lake Lucerne
Last week started off close to average. Temperatures were close to normal. Roads and lawns were emerging from the minor amount of remaining snow. Spring was in the air. That changed around mid-week..
Lake Lucerne
At the start of the week, the ice was in full retreat from the north shore. The liquid was described as very cold and crystal clear.
Lake Lucerne
There was still quite a bit more ice than there was open water on Lucerne.
Lake Lucerne
There was far more open water on Lake Metonga. Lucerne's sister lake seemed to be only a warm rain and windy day away from full ice-out.
Lake Lucerne
The above freezing days and below freezing nights (well below freezing nights) made the lake ice very hard and super smooth.
Lake Lucerne
And shiny, too.
Lake Lucerne
A tiny snow mid-week along with an un-tiny wind had snow devils dancing up and down the smooth surface.
Lake Lucerne
Local wildlife seemed to take all the change in stride. Some of them were redish.
Lake Lucerne
Closer to the weekend, the lake got a little more snow and a drop in temperatures. The single digit (°F) morning lows were not completely unexpected nor appreciated for this time of year. The snow cover highlighted some still open water near the islands and around mid-lake.
Lake Lucerne
The cold mornings and not so warm days eventually re-iced the open water on the north end.
Lake Lucerne
At the end of the weekend, some snow reclaimed West Shore Drive. Under some of that snow was ice that made driving interesting and walking dangerous.
Lake Lucerne
Knott Lane also had patchy ice under its snow cover.
Lake Lucerne
That was fast. We went from golf and early ice-out to cold in less than a week. The below freezing days and single digit nights gave the lake a late January feel. It also had us not thinking about ice-out. All we'd need is a good snowfall and a perfect January illusion would be complete. The thing about late March and early April is that change in the weather can come quickly. We are hoping that less than a week from now we'll be thinking less about hats and shoveling and more about pier placement and golfing.


-Nemo slipped a few times, only fell once.