REGIONAL—Warm and windy weather this past weekend appears to have cleared away lingering ice on all but a handful of lakes in the region, about two weeks earlier than long-term averages.

As of last Friday, ice was moving but still widespread on Lake Vermilion. Pilots reported lingering ice on Saturday morning, but the ice had cleared by the afternoon, helped along by sunshine and temperatures in the mid-60s.

That makes April 15 the official ice-out date for 2017— a full 15 days ahead of the average ice-out date of April 30.

April 14 was the charm for a number of lakes, including Shagawa, which cleared in the morning, as well as Pelican and Elephant. Ash Lake cleared on April 13.

Meanwhile, as of Sunday, ice still held on in the center of Burntside Lake, about ten percent of Trout Lake still held ice, and the eastern end of Moose Lake remained ice-covered according to Forest Service pilot Joel “Henny” Jungemann.

Most smaller lakes in the region had cleared of ice by the end of last week. Bear Head cleared as of April 12, while nearby Clear Lake opened two days earlier, on April 10. Fall Lake cleared as of April 13.

Up at the border, Lake Kabetogama was ice-free as of April 15, two weeks ahead of its April 29 average. Officials at Voyageurs National Park reported that Rainy Lake still had significant ice as of Monday, April 17.

You can check ice-out dates for lakes across Minnesota by going to www.dnr.state.mn.us/ ice_out/index.html?year=2017.