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Northern communities are losing lake ice as winter get warmer — and weirder

NPR | By Berly McCoy
Published March 5, 2026 at 5:15 PM EST

More than a thousand people recently gathered on frozen Lake Mendota in Madison, Wisc., for a celebration of winter. But a changing climate is affecting life above the ice.

Copyright 2026 NPR
Berly McCoy
Kimberly (Berly) McCoy (she/her) is an assistant producer for NPR's science podcast, Short Wave. The podcast tells stories about science and scientists, in all the forms they take.
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