It's been a typically horrific Winter...

and then it got worse. The unspeakable cold of Deep Winter lasted a week longer than usual. Up until mid-March, there were several small to medium snow events that added up to a goodly amount of snow on the ground and smiles on the punims of snowmobilers. Winter died a little early. Lawns began to emerge from the snowpack and tee times were planned. Then the Third Horseman of the Snowpocalypse, Zombie Winter, inflicted its presence on the area with weather that included single digit lows (°F) and close to a yard of snow. Forecasting ice-out on Lucerne this year is going to again be tricky. The lake ice at the start of March was better than half a yard thick. Now that ice is covered with an Ides of March event few have ever seen. The yard of heavy, insulating snow should keep the ice on the lake a week or more longer than it should be. This century, the latest the ice has been on the lake was back on May 8th 2014 and 2018. Back in 1996, ice-out was on the 9th or 10th of May (records from this period are sketchy, obtained partly from oral histories and local cave walls). Let's hope we don't get a frozen three-peat this century. We didn't ask an AI when it "thought" the date of ice-out on Lucerne would be this year. Last year's AI "thoughts" were vapid and useless. So now is the time to do your research, search your feelings, and avoid worthless AI predictions. And maybe win money. Last year, ice-out occurred on April 23rd. Maybe that helps, maybe not. In any event, good luck!

Pick ice-out, win money and fame!

The rules are simple. The first person to pick Wisconsin's Lake Lucerne 2026 ice-out date here wins $100.00. The second person to select that date wins $50.00, the third wins $25.00, the fourth wins $15.00, the fifth wins $10.00. Any picks after fifth place will win our admiration and thanks for playing. One entry per person. Every 24 hours or so, we'll put pending entries into the selected dates area after they're purged of dups, bots, and pets (Your cat may think he's people, but he's not. Humans only). Until then, pending dates will be listed in the "Pending Dates" Column. The decision of the judges (The College of Loons, Lake Lucerne's oldest and most mysterious semi-secret society) is final. This offer is not valid in any state or country where it is not legal. No purchase necessary. Any malfunction (software, firmware, hardware, Loon(s)) voids all plays.

2026 Ice-Out Entry Form