We’ve had sunny skies, but nighttime temperatures have been below freezing. That doesn’t stop the currents from eating away at the ice, but it slows things down enough that there hasn’t been a lot of change over the last couple of days.
Today’s satellite photo from the MODIS camera on the Terra satellite shows that Lake of the Woods is still close to 90% ice-covered. The biggest change seems to be between Big Narrows and the North West Angle.
Still, I was in the air today, and sunlight gives the best contrast for aerial photography, so here’s what we got.
Hay Island, Middle Island, Scotty Island.
I’ve tried to show the same areas that I photographed early this week, so that you can see what progress there is. The top photo shows slight enlargement of the open water encroaching on Hay Island and the Hades, and that patch of water at the far end of Scotty Island is new.
Don’t forget to click on these pictures to see a larger image that you can zoom in on to better see what’s going on in the distance. We didn’t have time to fly down for a closer look, but I think there’s a lot more open water down by Big Narrows. That’s near the upper edge of this photograph, above the center.
On to Keewatin Channel.
Town Island, Keewatin Channel, Devil’s Gap.
If you’re in crossing the Keewatin Bridge and heading through Norman, it looks like the whole lake must be open. But no. You could reach some parts of Town Island by boat now, for instance, but most of Town Island’s shores are still locked in ice. Over at Devils’ Gap, Roger’s Island is seeing more water along the shoreline, but only a little. In the middle distance at the right of this picture, you can see that Rat Portage Bay is slowly opening up on the town side of Devil’s Gap, but Gun Club Island is still surrounded by ice.
I’ll finish with a look at some of the little lakes in town.
Laurenson’s Lake, Round Lake, Rabbit Lake.
Laurenson’s Lake is starting to open up. The shoreline of Round Lake is letting go, and the remaining ice looks very weak. Rabbit Lake, which I was sure would be wide open early this week, has some open water at the west end, but ice is still holding on most of the lake.
Lake of the Woods Ice Patrol 
Hey there ice pilot! What are the chances you thonk White Fish Bay would be open by the 28th of this month?
I think it’s going to be close. Right now the 14 day forecast says the second half of April will be slightly cooler than normal: above freezing, but not warm. Would you settle for lots of open water, but not 100% clear of ice?
How about Shoal Lake Narrows and Shoal Lake?