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Person walks across frozen Lake Mendota

The brisk air is a reminder that our local lakes will soon freeze, but predicting when is anyone’s guess. There is a complex interplay of many forces that uniquely influences each lake’s ice-on date. (Learn more about the Mendota Freeze Contest and make your guess for when Lake Mendota will freeze.)

Freezing air temperatures are obviously the driving force behind lake ice formation. Yet water has a high specific heat capacity. This means it takes a lot of energy to change the temperature of water compared to other materials. Therefore, air temperatures from much earlier in the season can impact timing of ice formation. A cool September, for instance, can set the stage for an earlier freeze.

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Image 3 - Offshore monitor training

LakeForecast water quality monitoring in 2023

Clean Lakes Alliance’s LakeForecast water quality monitoring program completed its 11th season in 2023. This program is entirely volunteer implemented, with 90 trained monitors assessing water quality conditions from nearshore and offshore locations across all five Yahara lakes (Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa, and Kegonsa). From Memorial Day through Labor Day, volunteers recorded water clarity, air and water temperature, waterfowl presence, extent of floating plant debris, and the severity of green algae and cyanobacteria at public beaches, lakeside parks, and private piers. Submitted data can be seen in real-time on lakeforecast.org or our free app allowing the general public to stay up to date on current lake conditions.

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Nine days of Frozen Assets

We had so much fun throughout the nine days of Frozen Assets 2023 and we hope you did too! More than 8,000 lake enthusiasts from near and far joined us for science demonstrations, musical performances, ice skating, food and drinks, ice sculpture carving, a chance to try new winter activities, face painting, networking, a chance to run or walk in the only 5K on a frozen lake in North America, and more! We THANK YOU for supporting lakes Mendota, Monona, Wingra, Waubesa, and Kegonsa!

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Lake enthusiasts from near and far joined us at Frozen Assets 2023 for science demonstrations, music, a 5K on a frozen lake, and more!

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Iolight portable microscope

New opportunities to learn about and help our lakes can arise unexpectedly. Such is the case when Madison Gas and Electric‘s Jeff Jaeckels reached out to Clean Lakes Alliance about a research group looking for volunteers to study the lakes in a novel way. Studying the lakes through artificial intelligence will allow Clean Lakes Alliance and our partners to better monitor and research harmful algal blooms.

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Little Houses

Local Madison area photographers share their view of our lakes

The Greater Madison area often tops lists of best places to live. One of the reasons frequently cited, is our lakes. We talked to five photographers in the Madison area and found out what they love most about photographing the Yahara lakes. Read more from the photographers, and see a sampling of their work – as they feature different views of our watershed.

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