Previous predictions saw Lake of the Woods ice-free around the May Long weekend, however, with updated forecasts, it could be gone by a sooner date.
According to Kenora Ice Patrol's Tim Armstrong, changes to the forecast air temperatures could melt the ice days earlier than he originally predicted.
“A while back, they thought that this part of May was going to be not so great but now they have cheered up [about the forecast] and now they are saying that we are going to get decent weather which changes the way Shaun Cochrane (part of the Ice Patrol team) graphs it,” explained Armstrong.
“So instead of ice-out being on the brink of May Long weekend, we are looking at maybe May 18.”
This year has been record-breaking in many ways when it comes to snow and rainfall, and we are on track to have one of the latest ice-out dates in Kenora history.
“If he (Shaun Armstrong) is wrong, then yes, we are still running neck and neck with 2014 [for the latest ice-out date]. But if he is right and the new temperatures play the role we think they will, then we should be the second-worst year.”
With this good news, boaters may want to get their boats in the water soon, Armstrong is encouraging everyone to hold off a little longer, “Everyone is probably anxious to get their boat in the water but a lot of the marinas are still frozen in.”
“Another thing to keep in mind is that the water is very cold, you don’t want to fall in. [Make sure] you have your safety kit with you.”
Continuing with warmer temperatures, we are expecting to see the daytime high hover around 20 degrees Celsius today and tomorrow. Rain and slightly lower temperatures are expected for Sunday and Monday as we see more Colorado Lows move through the region.