Zombie Winter!

Last week started off sunny and calm with a high temperature that touched 60°F. There was talk of an early ice-out, lawn mowing, and golf by the end of the week. Winter was still dead. In hindsight, we should have watched the forecast instead of the sunsets.

Lakes Wabikon and Riley were not open at the start of the week, but it felt like they would be by the finish or just a bit longer.

Knott Lane had lost its ice (mostly) and was ready for boat trailer traffic and pothole repair.

At the start of the week, we had it all including retreating snow, exposed lawns, and the promise of tan. Winter was clearly dead.

To further celebrate the death of winter, the first campfires were lit to burn collected brush and help clear the firepit of snow.

Around mid-week, the temperatures were no longer near 60°F and there was an overnight dusting of snow. Some warned of a Zombie Winter visit, but most dismissed the colder weather as just a cadaveric spasm of a still dead winter.

The dusting of snow melted, but near the weekend, clouds rolled in and took the warmth from the air and the sunshine from the lawns.

During Thursday afternoon, local-ish highway departments started treating roads. This was concerning for those of us that wanted winter to stay dead.

Zombie Winter shuffled onto the lake area early Friday.

The strong wind that followed the snow dumped the white content of the trees on those below.

The again snow covered ice of the lake became a 3+ mile dance floor for hundreds of snow devils.

In this first event, we measured 10.5 inches total.

By Friday evening, the sun came out and many hoped Zombie Winter would shamble back to its grave.

Saturday passed with little un-dead winter events. It would seem it was just toying with the lake area. By late Sunday morning, we had another foot on the ground and it was still snowing. Hard.

It sounded, felt, and looked worse than it was. All you'd need to get around was a pair of snowshoes or some type of tracked vehicle.

Then came the wind and with it a little drifting.

Having the Third Horseman of the Snowpocalypse, Zombie Winter, explode during the Ides of March, a time noted for its misfortune and doom, seems right in an inevitably horrible way. It's not all frozen tears and mega-drifts though. The outdoor horrors kept the code monkeys close to their keyboards resulting in the coding and posting of this year's Annual Lake Lucerne Ice-Out Contest. Get your date soon.

-Nemo's putting on a hat, grabbing a shovel, and popping some prophylactic ibuprofen.

Zombie Winter!

March 9th through 15th, 2026