The ice is late, but it's here — just in time for the US Pond Hockey Championships

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twin Cities winter of broken records is adding another tally to what has already been a staggering season, as metro lakes clock their latest ice in dates in generations.

Lake Minnetonka, White Bear Lake, Lake Harriet and other metro lakes reached "ice in" status this past weekend – delayed by what was the warmest December on record in the Twin Cities.

"We didn't see anything like that December in the Twin Cities, going back to when records began," said DNR Climatologist Pete Boulay. "It just shows that in Minnesota, we're going to kind of have a land of extremes."

Historical data for ice in dates is less uniform than ice out dates, Boulay said. Still, this year has created a new benchmark.

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"For the keeper of weather statistics, this year will be remembered for a long time," he said.

Temperatures well below freezing have allowed some lakes to go from open water to safe for events in less than two weeks time.

At Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis, organizers of the annual US Pond Hockey Championships got a green light Wednesday to move forward with their 22-rink event as scheduled.

"(It's) mother nature," said Event Manager Jesse Delorit. "This cold weather. This vortex came down and blessed us with a couple of weeks of below zero weather, and we couldn't be happier."

Puck drop for the multi-week event is slated for 8:15 a.m. Friday.

"You get the calls. Obviously, sponsors, players in the event. It's understandable," Delorit said. "Safety is number one. I wouldn't be putting our crews out here if it wasn't safe enough. You get the calls, people are worried about it. We just tell them, especially with this lake, it's a great lake to grow ice. You've got to tell people to move forward. We're going to be confident with the process. It has worked out again for us."