Deep Winter II: The Frozening

January 19th through 25th, 2026

Lake Lucerne
It was cold last week. At the start, the temperatures were about 20°F below average. At mid-week they crept within 5°F below the norm. Then it got ugly cold. Temperatures during the weekend got close to record lows and highs didn't get above 0°F. The lake ice is not going out anytime soon.
Lake Lucerne
While the nights were cold, they were increasingly well lit by a clear sky and waxing moon.
Lake Lucerne
The toe taking cold at the start of the week made post bottle rocket war stick pick up a numbingly perilous event.
Lake Lucerne
Some sticks were left as aesthetic fort elements.
Lake Lucerne
The weekend cold that smothered the area kept most, but not all, snowmobiles off the lake.
Lake Lucerne
The terrible cold kept the men, for the most part, indoors. To get pictures, the drone was sent. After a short while, the frozen air would start to induce malfunctions, mostly gimbal overload errors. The cold craft was quickly recovered.
Lake Lucerne
There wasn't much snow last week, but there was enough wind to pick up snow and deposit it on roads. The condition of West Shore Drive has been better.
Lake Lucerne
A little bit of county sand has made Potawatomi Trail a little better. The snow on Knott Lane didn't get packed into ice. Strangely, its condition was the best of all.
Lake Lucerne
Our last task for the week was to get a check on the lake ice. We wisely waited for the heat wave that hit late Sunday. Seven degrees Fahrenheit never felt so warm.
Lake Lucerne
It took a while to drill through.
Lake Lucerne
There's currently 15 inches of ice covering the lake.
Lake Lucerne
The top 3 inches are a little airy. Under that layer, the ice is hard and clear. After taking off gloves to operate the underwater camera, the 7°F air stopped feeling very warm.
Lake Lucerne
The Fourth Horseman of the Snowpocalypse, January, is known for its cold and snow, but mostly for its cold. January, 2026 is following this template maybe too much. Reports from a Green Bay station claim that last week held the coldest stretch of days since 1895. The bad news is that the forecast is calling for one more week of Deep Winter. The good news is that it won't be so bone chillingly deep.


-Nemo's fingers were numb, but there were still 10 of them, so...Huzzah!.