Ice Out!

[Dr.Bob]

A week of unseasonably warm weather and wind has seriously deteriorated lake ice around the region, and mid-April ice outs could be in store for the larger area lakes like Vermilion and Pelican. As of late Wednesday, the ice was rapidly retreating on Vermilion?s Pike Bay, and good portions of Orr Bay on Pelican had cleared as well.
The main body of Pelican, as well as Vermilion, still held ice cover, however, as of Thursday. Tower-based pilot Ed Majerle said ice on Vermilion?s Big Bay was still land-locked and whitish when he flew over the lake about noon Thursday.

?I?d say it?s probably at least a week for Big Bay to go out,? he said.

The wind and warmth continued over the weekend. Shagawa and Burntside lakes near Ely went out over the weekend, and were nearly clear of ice as this story was posted online on Monday morning.

Up at the border, officials at Voyageurs National Park were estimating that ice would linger at least through midweek. A park pilot will be flying beginning on Monday to monitor lake conditions.

While ice out dates could be as much as two weeks ahead of schedule this year, they won?t be setting any records. The earliest recorded ice out on Vermilion is April 10, which occurred in 1945. Shagawa?s earliest reported ice out was April 14, 1990, but that included just 37 years of data, as opposed to 86 years for Vermilion.

Meanwhile, many smaller area lakes had cleared of ice as of the middle of last week, and few were expected to hold ice cover through this past weekend.

This article was borrowed from the Timber Jay.