Countdown to freeze-up record
Countdown to freeze-up record
By STU MERRY, BHG NEWS SERVICE
Can Lake Sakakawea make it another week without being officially called completely frozen over? Only Mother Nature knows for sure, and she’s not telling. If it can make it past Jan. 26, it will be a new record.
The Jan. 26 record was in 1955. The earliest freeze-over on record came that same year, Nov. 23, 1955.
Dale Evenson, Garrison Dam Power Plant manager, thinks freeze-over will be pretty soon. Water temperature was at 34 degrees late this past week. With this week’s cold temperatures, ice has been building in the bays and around the edges of the lake. Once that occurs, the main body of the lake begins to freeze over. It doesn’t take long after that for full freeze-over to occur.
What dictates formal freeze-over? The official check point is the overlook at the intake structure on the north side of the dam.
“We just locate a spot that’s open and watch that,” Evenson said.
