Lake Winnipesaukee Ice-Out occurs when all the ice on Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest lake in New Hampshire, United States, has broken up after winter. Over the years this has been decided upon by a variety of means; as of 2018, Dave Emerson makes the call. Emerson flies two to three times a day over Lake Winnipesaukee to check on the ice. Ice-Out is declared when the MS Mount Washington can make it to every one of her ports: Center Harbor, Wolfeboro, Alton, Weirs Beach and Meredith. It is also considered the unofficial start to the boating season as well as the end of winter in New Hampshire. The earliest recorded ice-out occurred in 2024 on March 17, beating the previous record of March 18, 2016 and March 23, 2012. The latest ice out occurred in 1888 on May 12.
Because the Ice-Out designation is based on the judgment of one person, it is unscientific. The call does not mean that the lake is entirely devoid of ice, nor does it mean that the MS Mount Washington actually does go to each of her ports. It simply means that it is believed that the ship could.
History Ice-Out records have been kept since 1887 as a way to keep track of when both commercial and passenger transportation lanes became usable in the lake. In 1974, Dr. William K. Widgert compiled data from known records to create a list of past dates.
Originally the Ice-Out designation was decided by people on shore. Later, for roughly 50 years, the call was made by Bob Aldrich, then, starting in the early 1980s, it was called by Alan Emerson. Since his death in 2002 it has been exclusively called by his son Dave, except in 2003 when it was declared by flight instructor Steve Sydorwicz.
Ice-Out has occurred earlier on average in the last two decades of the 20th century and the first of the 21st century than in preceding decades.
Contests There are two contests where the public can bet on when Ice-Out will occur on the lake. One is run by Public Service of New Hampshire and the other by Winnipesaukee.com.
Ice-Out dates
Year Ice-Out date 1887 May 7 1888 May 12 1889 April 14 1890 April 24 1891 April 23 1892 April 11 1893 May 10 1894 April 20 1895 April 26 1896 April 23 1897 April 23 1898 April 14 1899 May 2 1900 April 26 1901 April 20 1902 April 4 1903 April 2 1904 April 29 1905 April 24 1906 April 26 1907 April 29 1908 April 21 1909 April 19 1910 April 6 1911 May 2 1912 April 23 1913 April 17 1914 April 15 1915 April 24 1916 April 16 1917 April 28 1918 April 24 1919 April 14 1920 April 24 1921 March 28 1922 April 17 1923 April 24 1924 April 18 1925 April 10 1926 May 2 1927 April 13 1928 April 19 1929 April 18 1930 April 7 1931 April 11 1932 April 20 1933April 25 1934 April 21 1935 April 21 1936 April 8 1937 April 25 1938 April 17 1939 May 4 1940 May 4 1941 April 16 1942 April 18 1943 April 30 1944 May 3 1945 April 1 1946 March 30 1947 April 24 1948 April 10 1949 April 8 1950 April 20 1951 April 14 1952 April 20 1953 April 3 1954 April 16 1955 April 19 1956 May 3 1957 April 3 1958 April 13 1959 April 26 1960 April 19 1961 April 27 1962 April 24 1963 April 20 1964 April 28 1965 April 22 1966 April 20 1967 April 20 1968 April 15 1969 April 25 1970 April 28 1971 May 6 1972 May 2 1973 April 16 1974 April 17 1975 April 25 1976 April 17 1977 April 21 1978 April 27 1979 April 25 1980 April 17 1981 April 5 1982 April 29 1983 April 10 1984 April 20 1985 April 14 1986 April 16 1987 April 12 1988 April 16 1989 April 25 1990 April 22 1991 April 8 1992 April 21 1993 April 22 1994 April 23 1995 April 15 1996 April 17 1997 April 24 1998 April 7 1999 April 8 2000 April 10 2001 May 2 2002 April 5 2003 April 25 2004 April 20 2005 April 20 2006 April 3 2007 April 23 2008 April 23 2009 April 12 2010 March 24 2011 April 19 2012 March 23 2013 April 17 2014 April 23 2015 April 24 2016 March 18 2017 April 172018April 262019April 24 2020April 62021April 52022April 8 2023April 7 2024March 17 https://www.winnipesaukee.com/index.php?pageid=iceout2025April 16
References
External links Ice-Out page on Winnipesaukee.com Emerson Aviation, the service that makes the Ice-Out call Lake Winnipesaukee Ice-In Report