Happy New Year everyone! What a crazy start to winter! Due to current conditions, we remain closed at this time. Per naturalist Jim Gilbert who has kept Lake Waconia’s ice-in and ice-out records for decades, the ice-in date on Lake Waconia smashed records this winter and is officially 1/4/2024. That date is 11 days later than the previous record which was set on 12/24/2020. Wow!
We have been patiently waiting to provide positive news about the ice, but that wait has been excruciatingly long. Ben and Avery did a brief ice check today, 1/11/24 in front of the marina. Once they got past the thicker shoreline ice, about 50 yards out, the first hole Ben drilled was just over 2 inches thick. Aside from a few other holes drilled that were around 2.5 inches, they didn’t go beyond that as we have no interest in walking on ice that thin for long stretches. At the moment there is over an inch of snow coverage that is holding us back from ice growth. Where we did drill holes today, water was coming up and flooding the area. The same thing is happening where numerous cracks have occurred across the lake.Unfortunately, there are predictions for Friday night into Saturday of another 3 to 5 inches of snow including wind before we get the extreme cold temps later this weekend. Any added snow will greatly diminish ice growth even with the arctic temperatures we will get for several days along with inconsistencies in the ice due to snow drifts that are likely to happen. Some areas may blow clean and grow faster, while other drifted spots will grow minimally. Also, there is at least one spot of open water near Center Reef being kept open by geese, swans and other birds that we will have to pay attention to as we eventually get into the season.
Let’s hope the predicted snow doesn’t happen and the extreme sub-zero temps can help build the ice at a faster rate. We will be checking next week at some point and update when we know more and hopefully can provide store opening hours soon.
