REGIONAL— A mild late March and early April has helped to clear many area lakes of ice weeks ahead of normal, but most larger lakes in the region still had some ice cover as of midweek.
And with cool temperatures and light winds expected into the weekend, further ice-out progress is likely to be somewhat limited.
Updates on ice conditions were hard to come by this week, as most pilots were kept grounded by days of heavy clouds, fog, and sustained rain or snow. Most smaller lakes from Ely to the west have been open since April 10 or even earlier in some cases.
Among the area’s large lakes, it appears Pelican Lake cleared of ice on April 9. But, as of Tuesday, large areas of ice still lingered on Vermilion and Burntside, with small patches still visible on Shagawa. Based on past history, lakes to the east of Ely likely remained ice covered as of mid-week.