Last of the ice goes out on Fountain Lake
Published 9:55 am Friday, March 27, 2015
Small ripples can be seen on Fountain Lake this morning. The lake’s ice-out date for 2015 will be remembered as March 25. – Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Median historical ice-out date on lake is April 9
Wednesday will be recorded as the date the ice completely melted on Fountain Lake in 2015, according to Bill Malepsy, barber and annual watcher of the lake ice.
Malepsy said the final remnants melted at about 7 p.m. on the north end of the lake near the channel to Bancroft Bay and the boat landing off of Richway Drive.
The median date for the ice going out on Fountain Lake is April 9.
Malepsy said any ice-out in March is considered early, when compared to the average.
Ducks swim on Fountain Lake this morning after the last of the ice melted Wednesday night. -Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
In 2014, the ice-out date was April 13.
The recording of ice-out dates for Fountain Lake is the third oldest in the state, according to the State Climatology Office at the University of Minnesota. The records go back to 1912.
The latest the ice melted was April 30, back in 1953. The earliest the ice went out is March 7, setting the record in 2000. The ice has never lasted into May.
Rangers at Myre-Big Island State Park could not be reached as of press time to learn of the status of Albert Lea Lake. The records for that lake go back to 1991, with the years 1993 and 1995 skipped. The median ice-out date is March 31, with the earliest on March 5 in 2000.
Ice records from 1912-2015
1912: April 5
1913: April 3
1914: April 1
1915: April 10
1916: April 12
1917: April 12
1918: March 27
1919: March 26
1920: March 27
1921: March 18
1922: April 3
1923: April 14
1924: April 13
1925: March 25
1926: April 12
1927: March 24
1928: April 15
1929: March 28
1930: March 16
1931: March 15
1932: April 6
1933: April 4
1934: April 3
1935: April 25
1936: April 14
1937: April 12
1938: March 25
1939: March 30
1940: April 14
1941: April 8
1942: March 27
1943: April 3
1944: April 10
1945: March 25
1946: March 24
1947: April 15
1948: March 31
1949: April 9
1950: April 18
1951: April 27
1952: April 18
1953: April 30
1954: April 6
1955: April 8
1956: April 14
1957: April 9
1958: April 5
1959: April 11
1960: April 12
1961: April 15
1962: April 21
1963: April 2
1964: April 10
1965: April 20
1966: March 17
1967: March 29
1968: March 27
1969: April 12
1970: April 12
1971: April 13
1972: April 16
1973: March 24
1974: April 11
1975: April 25
1976: March 26
1977: March 28
1978: April 5
1979: April 19
1980: April 12
1981: March 25
1982: April 14
1983: April 11
1984: April 16
1985: March 31
1986: April 1
1987: March 23
1988: April 3
1989: April 9
1990: March 28
1991: April 3
1992: April 5
1993: April 15
1994: April 3
1995: March 27
1996: April 15
1997: April 6
1998: March 30
1999: March 29
2000: March 7
2001: April 12
2002: April 9
2003: April 2
2004: March 28
2005: April 4
2006: April 5
2007: March 27
2008: April 16
2009: April 3
2010: March 31
2011: April 8
2012: March 17
2013: April 23
2014: April 13
2015: March 25
