On a chilly day, let's talk about Lake Pepin ice

Yahoo

01-04-2025

Mar. 31—Dear Answer Man: In past winters we have always been updated on the amount of ice on Lake Pepin, but I didn't see that annual story this winter. Just wondering if the barges have been able to travel through that area yet? What is the earliest and the latest that barges have been through Lake Pepin? — LaCrescent James
Dear James,
Rollin' on the river as you must be — a resident of LaCrescent — you just need to look toward the river and you'll see barges already making their way up and down the "Great River."
The average tow arrives in St. Paul somewhere around the third week of March, said Elizabeth Stoeckmann, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District, which oversees the river in Minnesota/Wisconsin and down to Guttenberg, Iowa. This year, the first tow began its journey up the Upper Mississippi in the district on March 10. The tow season officially began on March 20 after the Motor Vessel Neil N. Diehl locked through Lock and Dam 2, in Hastings, Minnesota, March 19.
By now on April 1 — no foolin' — barges and tugs should by plying the waters regularly until late November or early December, when ice on Lake Pepin will, once again, prevent barge traffic.
Your confusion, though, James, is understandable. Again, this was not the average wet, cold winter in Minnesota. At least that's what we'd think from the lack of snowfall during the season. Let's look at temperatures and precipitation totals over the last three months. (Note: Answer Man is writing this on March 28, so the totals for March are not final.)
January: In Rochester, we received 0.4 inches of snow (0.2 inches of precipitation), and the average temperature for the month was 15 degrees. Well, that's not far from the average temperature (1991-2020) of 14.7 degrees. But it's way low for snowfall (12.2 inches) and precipitation (0.99 inches).
February: We got a lot more snow (5.3 inches), meaning our precipitation total (rain plus snow melted down to liquid form) came in at 0.54 inches. Not exactly dry January, but still below the 30-year average of 10.7 inches and 1.02 inches, respectively. As for the temperature, the 2025 average of 16 degrees was actually lower than the 30-year average of 18.7 degrees.
March: The 30-year average temperature jumps to 31.7 degrees in the month where we move from winter to spring on the calendar. And the wetness average is 8.6 inches of snow with 2.02 inches of precipitation. That compares to this year (so far ...) of 38.2 degrees — quite a bit warmer — and 8.7 snowfall inches along with 1.87 inches of precipitation.
All this meteorological date leads back to our discussion of ice on Lake Pepin.
Snow and cold are two factors that can lead to thicker ice. Snow — especially early in the winter — was in short supply, but the cold was about average. That led to average ice as well. On Feb. 26, the Corps went out on their air boats for the first time and measured ice. Well, the average of all those measurements was 20 inches. That's as average as can be, Stoeckmann said.
So, while the ice was average, and the temperatures were average, what we don't expect at this point is the average threat of flooding this spring, Stoeckmann said. Between the lack of spring snow pack in the Upper Mississippi and St. Croix basins, and the warm temperatures we've already had, it would take a serious rainfall event to bring flooding at this point.
Now, if we can just make sure there's enough moisture for the farmers this in May and June ... (this is Answer Man foreshadowing).
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