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Minnesota Lakes Thaw Tracker for 2026

John Downing of Minnesota Sea Grant will present his 2026 lakes thaw forecasts and show you how you can win your pool predicting the date of 2026 first open water for your favorite lake. Minnesota Sea Grant’s Lakes Thaw Tracker yielded accurate ice-out forecasts for 2024 and 2025.

This year, the models are improved by new data and analyses. John will also talk about predicting when lakes will freeze over and how thick the ice-cover will be.Tune in so you can plan when to stay off the lake and when to put the boat in the water.

Presented By: Dr. John Downing, Director of the Sea Grant College Program, a research scientist at the Large Lakes Observatory on Lake Superior, and a professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.