Coast Guard to begin Ice Breaking Operations Next Week

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter ALDER will begin ice breaking operations next week in the Northland. 

Ice breaking will start on Monday, March 7 inside of the Duluth and Superior Harbors. 

Crews will then expand to Two Harbors, Taconite Harbor, Silver Bay and Thunder Bay, Ontario, to prepare for the upcoming shipping season. 

This winter has been unseasonably warm and the ice cover is not as expansive or as thick as usual. 

The forecast for the next seven to ten days calls for warm temperatures, which will rapidly melt ice. 

All snowmobile, ATV operators, ice fishermen and other recreational users of the ice should use caution near the ice. 

The 2016 shipping season is expected to kick off when the Soo Locks reopen March 25th.