We have to be off the lake at the latest the last weekend in October. Being in Minnesota I am sure that makes sense to you all.
Back in 1991, Minnesota enjoyed part of the "Halloween" snowstorm. Same storm that was part of the Perfect Storm, Andrea Gail, etc..
The day before was beautiful, sunny, calm, almost 70 degrees. My dad and I were out taking in the fall colors that day, even went for a drive around Minnetonka. It was a pretty day. 24 hours later it was a different story.
By dusk, Halloween night, we had a foot of snow on the ground and the wind was starting to howl. On the Ten O'clock news they were showing guys at the boat ramps on Minnetonka shoveling 2 feet of snow out of their boats and rushing to get their boats off of the lake. Many didnt make it, and to this day there are still 100's of boats on the bottom of that lake, and many more on the bottoms of other lakes. When it was all over, we racked up 29 inches officially, at the airport (MSP), more or less in other places. Having lived there all my life and having faced many big blizzards, it was simply unbelievable.
People used to wait till mid November to pull their boats out up there, but that storm put a big scare in everyone. By the following morning the lakes were froze over solid. By Nov 3rd the temp was almost zero and the wind was screaming. To add insult to injury, on the 4th we got another 14 inches of snow. Longest winter I can remember, the lakes didnt ice out till late April/early May.
I guess what im saying is if you live in a northern climate with iced over lakes during winter, dont get caught with your pants down. This season looks to be starting early and has all the impressions of possibly being harsh. Thankfully, I dont live "there" anymore, and dont need to pull the boat out. It hasnt been out of the water since at least 2007, and more likely not since 2002.
