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Minnesota lake ice is one of those things we don’t always fully perceive up close.

Most of the time, it seems like lake ice is a static thing. But the ice on our lakes is often moving slowly. The water underneath is often flowing. And strong winds blowing across lake ice create enough friction to move ice — sometimes in a big way.

Case in point: Take a look at Friday’s satellite images from Lake Superior near Duluth. You can see how the stiff southerly winds gusting over 30 mph begin to push newly formed lake ice northward away from shore.

Here’s an up-close view of how much the ice shifted near Duluth Friday. Take a look at the first image below. You can clearly see the ice floe near the shore at Canal Park from the Lake Superior Maritime Museum webcam at around 12:30 p.m. Friday.

Now here’s another image taken around 2 p.m. Friday. See how far the ice floe has moved? There’s plenty of open water near shore, and you can just see the white of the ice in the distance.

This was thin ice, but you can see why ice-fisher people should be leery of being caught out on an ice floe. They can move quickly.

Southerly winds tonight will continue to push the ice floe near Duluth northward.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

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Gusty south winds are pushing on newly-formed ice cover near Duluth. Weather satellite images show the ice in motion is visible from space.

Ice in motion: High winds push Lake Superior ice floe away from Duluth

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