April 7 was our official 2020 ice-out date. Earlier than the last three years, this year we had several unusually warm days in late March and early April. A long rainy day on April 6 was all we needed to remove the last of the lingering ice in the lake’s center.  Similar to prior ice-out dates, we were one day behind Winnipesaukee’s April 6 ice-out.

Ice-Out records in New Hampshire have been kept since 1887 as a way to keep track of when both commercial and passenger transportation lanes became usable in the larger lakes. The Department of Environmental Services has asked all lakes to begin tracking their ice-out dates. Ice-out dates for Winona have been: