Ice is out on Fountain Lake
Published 5:25 pm Friday, April 27, 2018
April 27 will be recorded as the date the ice completely melted on Fountain Lake in 2018, according to Mark Malepsy, who officially took over the position of annual watcher of the lake this year from his father, Bill.
Mark Malepsy said the last of the ice on the lake melted off of Grace Street at 5:20 p.m. Friday.
The ice-out date is almost one month after last year’s ice-out date of March 29, and is tied with 1951 for the second latest the ice has ever lasted since records were kept in 1912. The latest the ice melted was April 30, back in 1953, according to records. The ice has never lasted into May.
The earliest the ice has ever melted was on March 7 in 2000.
“It’s kind of a sign of spring,” said Bill Malepsy, who had recorded the ice-out dates since 1960.
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 longest-known recording of ice-out dates started in 1867 for Lake Osakis near Alexandria, but hasn’t been consistent. The recording of ice-out dates for Lake Minnetonka started in 1870 and has been consistent since 1887.
The ice has not yet melted on Albert Lea Lake, which usually does so before Fountain Lake, the father and son said. Records for that lake go back to 1991. The median ice-out date for Albert Lea Lake is March 31.
Look to the Tribune’s Tuesday edition for more information about Mark Malepsy and the annual ice-out tradition.
Fountain Lake ice-out dates since 1912
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
2016: March 15
2017: March 29
2018: April 27