Last year, March 23rd was the official ice out day for Lake Winona. This year, however, the ice is still fully in place. Not just for Winona. Most area lakes still have a firm layer of ice. Despite a few warm days, we’ve continued to drop into the low 30s and 20s at night, making it difficult to rid area lakes of their ice. Below, two photos taken today show that while the majority of the lake remains frozen, the launch ramp area has thawed. Forecasts show the area slowly edging towards 60 degree days, which will hopefully speed things up.