Could the North Country be headed for a record early ice-out? That’s been the question of the week for folks in the area, as extraordinarily warm March weather continues to eat away at lake ice.

As of March 24, the month’s average temperature was running 11.6 degrees above normal in International Falls, the only border country station with long-term records. At the current pace, that puts the area well on track to beat the previous warmest March, recorded back in 1918.

And with temperatures well into the 60s as of midweek, this March could well be the warmest one ever recorded in the area, and that could put previous early ice-out records in jeopardy.

On Lake Vermilion, as well as Fall Lake, the date to watch is April 10, which is the previous record date, set back in 1945. On Shagawa, it’s April 14, a record set in 1998. On Lake Kabetogama, the earliest recorded ice-out was April 13, also in 1998.

With dark ice and no remaining snow cover on area lakes, the weather the next two weeks will likely tell the tale. Forecasts for near record warm temperatures this week have borne out. Temperatures were in the mid 60s on Tuesday and were expected to hit 70 degrees on Wednesday.

The one thing missing from the forecast is a strong chance of precipitation, at least through the next week. The extended dry spell, which began in late January, has fire officials concerned about the possibility of wildfires. It has also pushed much of northern St. Louis County back into drought status. As of Thursday, the official US Drought Monitor has much of northern St. Louis County listed as “abnormally dry.”