The Art of Ice Formation – Mendota Today

To see our playground start to come to life, check out this time-lapse video of ice formation between the Edgewater and the Memorial Union on Lake Mendota. It’s -13F here this morning, and the middle of Lake Mendota is still steaming, but the ice is coming in. Keep an eye on the Mendota Today webcam for more thrilling ice formation videos!
Video link

 

Scott Goetz Memorial Postponed & Weather Update

View from Lake Mendota Webcam on January 12, 2024. This is a good thing. Watch the live webcam for ice-making starting Monday.

Southern Wisconsin is currently weathering heavy snow and winds. The blizzard has prompted the postponement of Scott Goetz’s celebration of life, initially scheduled for Saturday, January 13, 2024. The family will likely reschedule when the weather is warmer.

Weather Underground temperature forecast.

We expect very cold weather next week and are hopeful for good ice sailing conditions in the coming days. The good news is that all Madison area lakes are open.  Maybe we’ll have ice like Lake Vanem in Sweden right now, pictured below! Keep your runners sharp, it’s coming to southern Wisconsin.

State of the Lakes


After a week of below-zero temperatures, high winds, and snow, let’s review what Mother Nature left us. The good news is the big lakes were (mostly – see, Mendota) open and missed the snow. The east of Mendota froze on Friday, but as you can see, a large area remained open, at least as of December 24. Monona has an inconsistent freeze with numerous open areas. In other good news, Green Lake and Geneva were liquid as of December 24 and missed the snow.
After a week of bitter cold, the pendulum is swinging back to unseasonable warmth, with possible rain. Will the heat and rain bring the other lakes back online? Stay tuned!
Ice Check Webcams
Mendota Today
MODIS Satellite View
AOS Rooftop Lake Mendota
Lake Geneva Yacht Club
Lake Geneva from Gordy’s

Geneva Lake Ice Cam

Geneva before the snow deluge.

Mary Jane Schalk alerts us to a live web cam set up at the Lake Geneva Yacht Club. What’s really cool about this one is that by clicking on the left of the image, a menu slides out with links to time-lapse images from previous days. Above is a screen shot from Monday, January 21, where you can see the beautiful sheet of ice now covered by snow.
LGYC Ice Cam