Victoria Day falls on May 21 this year and the record for latest ice-off is May 19, in 1926. Will Lake Nipissing be ice-free by the May long weekend?
There is still plenty of ice on Lake Nipissing but above-seasonal temperatures and rain this week will speed up the melting process.
Data has been kept since 1901 recording the official ice-off date for Lake Nipissing. The earliest that all 85,870 hectares of Lake Nipissing have been reported clear of ice was April 3, in 1945.
According to the Upper French River Cottagers Association (UFRCA) the median or middle value of ranked dates for complete ice-off on Lake Nipissing is April 28, a date we have sailed past this year with plenty of ice left over. For the full list of historical ice-off dates, click here.
The standard deviation is plus or minus 9 days. The average range, containing 68 per cent of all recorded ice-off dates lies between April 19 and May 7.
