Lake Winnipesaukee ice-out declaration is earliest on record
LAKE WINNIPESAUKEE, N.H. - An ice-out was declared for New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee on Sunday afternoon, signaling the end of another warm winter for the region.
"This is the earliest ice-out date for the big lake in the approximately 150 year history, beating March 19, 2016," WBZ-TV meteorologist Jacob Wycoff noted.
Emerson Aviation made the ice-out declaration at 4:37 p.m. The Emerson family has been flying over New Hampshire's largest body of water and checking for the presence of ice since the 1970s.
An ice-out is official when the vessel Mt. Washington can navigate to the Wolfeboro, Meredith, Weirs Beach, Alton Bay and Center Harbor ports completely free of ice.
"Unprecedented" lack of ice
Pilot Dave Emerson in early February predicted there would not be an "ice-in" at all this season, when the deepest and widest part of the lake known as "the broads" is completely frozen over.
"This is the first year I've seen this much open water this late in the year," he told Wycoff. "This is unprecedented."
Ultimately, Emerson called an ice-in for one day before the broads melted and opened back up.
Ice-outs getting earlier on Lake Winnipesaukee
As Wycoff reported in December, climate change is impacting ice-out and ice-in dates on the lake.
The Emersons maintain statistics on ice-outs dating back to 1888. With Sunday's declaration, the Top 4 earliest ice-out dates have all occurred since 2010.
