Is The Ice Out Yet?

     Thanks to the warm weather we’re already getting phone calls from people asking this popular spring question.  I’m not exactly sure why people are so curious to know since it isn’t as if they are going to come up any time soon even if it does go off.  

     The overnight temperatures have been right at or below freezing for the past two weeks.  It has even dipped down into single digits on these clear moonlit nights.  It got down to 18 degrees last night and this morning the surface of the ice looks as good as the ice at our outdoor rink in Grand Marais in February.  

     The Seagull River in front of Voyageur Canoe Outfitters   is just open between the docks and the moose ponds are still half covered.  That could change some this week with temperatures predicted to be up into the 60’s. It’s hard to believe it’s still only March with a forecast like that.

     I’ll be sure to blog or tweet when the ice does go out but I don’t see it happening any time soon.  The earliest it has gone out in the past 15 years was in 2006 when it went out on April 19th.  Almost all Minnesota lakes still have ice except Lake Pepin in the Southeast.  If you want to know the status of the ice then check out this website to keep posted and try to resist the urge to call and ask "Is the ice out yet?"