Lake Winnebago Ice Shoves Cause Damage

A small but potent ice shove came ashore during the overnight hours of Tuesday, March 22, 2022 on a private road just south of Oshkosh, Wis.

Three houses at the end of Lake Rest Lane were affected by the shove, which piled as high as 10 feet, and moved at least 10 feet onto the shore.

The worst of the damage occurred at the Mike and Rosemary Sammons resident where the ice travelled 10 feet into the residence, destroying everything in it’s path. KFIZ Breaking News Editor Doug Raflik took photos of the shove and also recorded video of the shove, which has been shared almost 500 times.

It is unknown exactly what time the shove occurred but according to the National Weather Service website, the highest winds that could have pushed the ice occurred between 7pm and 9pm when gusts up to 29 mph were registered.

Ice shoves happen when the ice near shore melts and wind then pushes the ice from the middle of the lake towards shore, over the now open water. While it does not travel very fast, the momentum of the ice pushes it onshore where it breaks apart over itself causing piles of ice.