An account of the early ice-out of 2012:
Earl Poyerd chatted with customers about it at his barbershop in White Bear Lake on Tuesday, March 20 (2012).
Corey Millar remarked on it as he angled for panfish. Dan Sandager said it was part of the reason he pulled out a mouse-eaten catamaran sail and finally had it repaired.
Ice out on White Bear Lake came early this year - Monday - and set a record for the east metro's largest lake shedding its icy cover.
Lakes across the entire metro saw ice out come weeks ahead of normal this year, as the metro area experienced its fourth-warmest winter - December through February - in more than 140 years. The Twin Cities set eight record-high temps over the past 11 days, according to records.
"We've been blessed with all these nice, record-breaking temps," Pat Loeffler said as Poyerd trimmed his neckline. "We started off winter warm, and we got to finish winter warm. I wonder what place this winter will finish?"
"We have our ice-out fish department over there," Poyerd said, motioning to a corner of the shop where a list of historic ice-out dates was posted on the wall.
The list was put up by Bernard "Benny" Schmalzbauer, after he opened the barbershop in 1936. Poyerd said Schmalzbauer became so well-known for keeping track of the lake's ice-out date that several universities made it a habit to call on him each spring to get the information.
"I just keep it going because it's interesting information and look how we're trying to analyze it," Poyerd said.
The definition of an ice out varies depending on the lake and person, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Some consider it an ice out when the lake is completely free of ice or 90 percent free. Others say it's when navigation is possible between two points.
For White Bear Lake, ice out comes when there's no more ice on the water.
White Bear's previous record was March 21, 2000.
The latest the lake was covered with ice? May 4, 1950.
The median ice-out date is April 14.
Since 2001, the list has been updated after a call from Schmalzbauer's handpicked replacement, Jan Holtz Kraemer.
(source: Condensed from article written by J. Brewer, St. Paul Pioneer Press 3/20/2012)
During normal water levels of White Bear Lake, this was a submerged prop damaging rock pile. Today it is an island well above the water level and trees have begun to grow on it.
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