Dense Snowfall and More Expected Tomorrow
Due to the impending winter storm, The Red Door Resort access will open again to walkout traffic, snowmobiles and ATVs on Friday morning. The Ice Team will be conducting a more in depth ice check tomorrow (Thursday) when conditions allow and the plan is to post a more detailed ice report tomorrow evening.
The north end of Mille Lacs Lake faired relatively well with the snowfall over the last 24 hours. When the precipitation stopped and strong winds died down, about 4 to 5 inches of packed snow covered the ice (see cover photo). The snow out on the lake is dense, which is preferable, since more packed snow traps less air and thus provides less insulation. Insulation slows down ice creation. Closer to shore and at the access the weight of the snow caused some minor flooding. The water spots are passable and will freeze up when it cools down. Pictures below from The Red Door Resort’s new webcams show the puddling marks in the snow.
Until 6pm tomorrow the Mille Lacs lake area is under a Winter Storm Warning with total snow accumulations of 4 to 11 inches (depending on the meteorologist) predicted. Of course, all of us at The Red Door Resort are hoping the storm misses us, especially since temperatures are predicted to plummet heading into the weekend. Time will tell if the snowfall slows down the earlier than usual ice build on Mille Lacs.
Stay tuned for more details and a post storm update tomorrow!
