Minnesota Lakes 'Setting New Records' for Early Ice-Out

Lakes in Minnesota are "setting new records" for early ice out after a very warm winter.

Many lakes in the state have been declared completely ice-free, which is much earlier than is usual for this time of year.

"Lake ice out began in earnest at the end of February to the beginning of March. The first lake to lose its ice in the state was Lake Okamanpeedan in Martin County on the Iowa border on February 22. There are 110 lakes with lake ice out reports on the DNR webpage and more are coming in each day," Pete Boulay, a climatologist at the Department of Natural Resources told Newsweek.

"Many lakes are setting new records for early lake ice out. There are only four lakes in the state with records back to 1878. Clear Lake in Waseca County has records back to 1874. The old record was March 6, 1878, and that record was broken this year with the new record of March 1, 2024. In general, lake ice out was running about a month ahead of the long-term averages. The new lake ice out record for Osakis is March 8, set this spring with the old record of March 13, 1878. Another lake with a long record is White Bear Lake March 8; the old record was March 19, 2012."

Minnesota has seen a record-breaking winter, with unusually high temperatures. The state's lakes, which are usually frozen through March, seem to be losing their ice very early this year as a result.

Eyes were on Lake Minnetonka earlier this week, as there were suspicions officials would declare ice out – a status given when a lake is completely free of ice. If this occurred on March 11, it would have tied the 146-year-old record for the earliest ice out to ever occur on the lake, which was March 11, 1878.

However, this is one lake that has not been declared ice-free just yet—although it seems nearly there.

This past winter was the warmest on record for the state, due to the combined effects of climate change and El Nino. According to the weather data, the state's winters have increased in temperature from 5 to 6 degrees since 1970.

El Niño winters usually bring drier conditions for the North and wetter conditions for the South, which can explain the warm conditions for the state this year.

Although this can mean good things for drought-stricken states, warm winters in areas like Minnesota can have various negative knock-on effects. This is because a lot of people rely on the lake ice for their livelihoods.

Climate change is also expected to be causing some of these conditions. In recent years, the globe has seen various record-breaking temperatures.

Last month, new data showed that the global mean temperature for the past year was the highest ever recorded. It also showed that January 2024 was the warmest on record.

It is not the only area experiencing incredibly low ice levels. In fact, this year saw ice coverage across the Great Lakes reach a historic low. In February, NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) reported that the overall ice coverage for all five Great Lakes stood at a tiny 2.7 percent.

There were some cold temperatures in January; however, it did not last long enough for any lasting effect on ice levels.

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