REGIONAL — Lake Vermilion officially cleared of ice Tuesday, April 28, just two days ahead of the lake’s long-term average. Significant rainfall and wind Monday helped finish off what had been still-extensive ice coverage heading into the weekend.
Vermilion has one of the longest periods of record for ice-out of any lake in northern Minnesota, with some of the earliest records dating to around 1910. The records become more consistent starting around 1940.
Most smaller lakes in the area cleared of ice a few days earlier. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ ice-out webpage, Clear Lake went ice-free April 23; One Pine, Bear Head, and Garden lakes all cleared April 24; and Farm Lake and Eagles Nest No. 3 both cleared April 25. Fall Lake cleared April 28, according to state climatologist Pete Boulay.
Extensive low cloud cover during the early part of the week made it difficult to determine ice-out dates on lakes in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and border lakes in Voyageurs National Park.