So with this Spring and the beginning of mud season feeling more like winter with another Saturday of pesky snow falling and not sticking much, who else has had this thought?
“When the heck will ice-out occur on Sebago Lake this year”
We are blessed with many lakes in the region, well-managed waters and waterways with rules to preserve and protect them for generations to come. As it turns out, there is public information available from a study performed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, from the U.S. Geological Survey, with the delightful title:
Historical Ice-Out Dates for 29 Lakes in New England.
In looking at this fascinating report, I learned 2 interesting things: Sebago Lake has the oldest records kept, dating back to 1807, along with another interesting thing: You need to understand Julian days and the Julian Calendar, to know what this report means:
http://me.water.usgs.gov/reports/OFR02-34.pdf
January 1 of each calendar year is Julian Day 1, January 2 is Julian Day 2 and so forth, and the report runs from earliest data known – the average record being 108 years with Sebago Lake data going back the furthest. The end of March is fast approaching in a couple of days which will be Julian day 90. More than a dozen times, Sebago Lake ice out has occurred in less that 90 Julian days. This year, right now this last weekend in March, our dedicated team here at Anne Plummer & Associates sees no end in sight for the ice on all of the many lovely lakefront and water access properties we diligently serve for clients and prospects here in the Maine Lakes Region. Regardless of when ice out will take place on your favorite body of water – and thick ice this season – we have just the property for you.
So what is your guess? Let us know!
Ours is on the long side of historical data: 124 Julian days, April 24th!
Happy guessing!!