Steve McComas

When we’re sitting atop lake ice, the creaking and groaning melody caused by wide swings in air temperatures can be unnerving. On some days when temps go from 20 degrees below (Fahrenheit) zero to 10 degrees above, lake ice will contract and expand, creating a symphony of sound.
It’s winter below the ice as well, and the aquatic community reacts accordingly.

The 2024 spring/summer started out wet and hot. Above-average precipitation from April to June, along with higher-than-average temperatures through August were recorded. Then the rain spigot was turned off in September and October, and lake levels started dropping but the days were still warm.

Here’s a mystery involving a single lake with two plant conditions.
Pike Lake in Scott County, Minn., presented a huge surprise during the summer of 2024. It’s a 50-acre lake with two basins separated by a shallow channel. Prior to my field work there, I didn’t know much about the lake.

What a contrast between the summers of 2023 and 2024 in Minnesota!
Last year, there was a heavy snowpack followed by summertime drought conditions. This year, there was a light snowpack followed by spring and summer rains that produced flooding conditions. Rainfall totals at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport for the April-June period in 2023 totaled 5 inches. For the same time period in 2024, rainfall totaled 17 inches. Rainfall and run-off have increased lake levels this summer, but there are other lake issues as well.