Area lakes clear of ice

REGIONAL—The annual quest for ice-out dates on area lakes proved a bigger challenge this year than most due to a storm system that brought three days of wind and rain to the region, keeping most pilots on the ground just as ice was clearing from many larger lakes in northern St. Louis and Lake counties.

Satellite images, which typically provide another means to assess ice-out on larger area lakes, were rendered useless as well by three days of thick cloud cover stretching from April 23-25.

As a result, for many lakes, the real ice-out date may never be known for 2016.

Officially, Lake Vermilion cleared of ice on April 25. But shore observers suggested it may have been as early as Sunday, April 24. Yet given the weather conditions, it was impossible for pilots to confirm the earlier date. Even so, April 25 is four days ahead of the long-term averageice-out date for Vermilion, of April 29.

Pelican Lake, near Orr, cleared of ice on April 21, according to state climatologist Pete Boulay. Both Black Duck and Ash lakes opened on April 19, while Elephant, White Iron, and Fall lakes were all declared ice-free on April 20. Bear Head Lake opened on April 18. Most smaller lakes opened up earlier last week, running mostly west to east.

Up on the border, Crane Lake opened April 19, according to Jerry Pohlman at Nelson’s Resort. Significant rain in mid-March had boosted water levels in area rivers, including the Vermilion River, which empties into Crane Lake. “We had quite a bit of current early on and the ice was really very good from the start,” said Pohlman.

An exceptionally mild winter left much less ice on area lakes than usual, but significant snow and cold that lingered through the first half of April, slowed the melt of what limited ice had accumulated.

A brief heat wave that hit the area April 15-17, helped melt remaining snow and wiped out ice cover on most smaller lakes within a day or two, leaving lingering ice mostly on the area’s largest lakes.

As of April 22, satellite images showed plenty of remaining ice on the big border lakes, including Kabetogama. But by Monday morning, following three days of shifting winds, the ice had broken up and was no longer visible from most shore locations, according to Phil Hart, at the Gateway Store, near Ray. “It appears it’s open,” said Hart on Monday, “but there’s no official word.” Pilots from Voyageurs National Park typically give the all clear on the park’s big lakes, but the conditions over the weekend and on Monday prevented any overflights.

But satellite images from Wednesday showed significant ice still remaining on both Rainy and Namakan lakes.