Even With Warm Weather, Ice-Out Could Still Be Weeks Away
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- There are only a few remaining signs of the icy grip of winter after another day of temperatures in the 60s. The snow may be gone, but there is still some ice on metro area lakes.
Because of the warm up, Hennepin County Water Patrol will hit the lake starting Tuesday morning to see when to expect this year's ice-out.
Freshwater Society has tracked ice-out dates on Lake Minnetonka for the last 160 years. They say even with the mild winter and warm week, it could still be weeks before the ice melts away.
"This is, in my six years, as warm as I can remember it being out here," said Jack Stevens, general manager at Maynard's along the water.
It's about this time of year when a friendly guessing game starts at Maynard's.
Stevens said this year, the person who guesses the day law enforcement will call an ice-out wins a kayak.
They'll look to the past to try to guess the future. The Freshwater Society shows the earliest ice-out on Lake Minnetonka happened March 11, 1878.
The latest happened May 5, 1857. History shows right around April 14 is a likely time.
"A longer time without the ice is definitely going to help us," Stevens said.
For some, ice-out occurs only when the lake is completely free of ice. For others, ice-out is defined as the moment when navigation is possible from point A to point B. And yet for others, ice-out is when 90 percent of the lake is ice free.
Freshwater Society and law enforcement say it is still early to tell, but they are not expecting to break any records this year.