Staff
It appears Rainy Lake has its earliest recorded ice-out.
At the latest, the ice was out yesterday, although some anecdotal reports suggest it went out Sunday night.
Ice-out dates on Rainy Lake have been recorded since 1930, with the previous record being April 13 in 1998.
So whether the ice officially went out Sunday or Monday, the record seems to have fallen.
Gord Melville of Melaire Ltd. reported the north arm of the lake was clear Sunday, although a chunk of ice blew down towards the Noden Causeway.
The causeway appeared clear of ice yesterday.
“I went over there on Sunday,” noted Melville. “As far as getting to the Cascades, you could have gone down the canoe channel and up there on Sunday.
“There was quite a chunk [of ice] blowing down because we had that north wind, but the canoe channel was all open,” he added.
“I think by Monday [April 12], it would have been pretty well broken up,” Melville concluded.
The Minnesota Climatology Working Group reported ice-out on Saturday (April 10), although the determination on the U.S. side of the lake is that boat travel from Island View to Kettle Falls is unimpeded by ice.
The early ice-out is a far cry from last year, when the ice wasn’t out until May 5.
It’s also the first April ice-out since 2006, when it was April 16.
