North Shore Lake conditions

Based on the weekend forecast, The Red Door plows tip-toed back to the tulips today, instead of building ice roads that by Sunday could be gone. Hope the forecast is wrong! No need for more snow and wind.

Mille Lacs Forecast

The weather forecast seems to have been dead on. Visability on the lake has been less than 1/4 mile all day. One fishing report in today: “We SAW 3 and caught 2 of them. One 16″ and one 20.”

“Issued by The National Weather Service
Duluth, MN
3:32 pm CST, Sat., Dec. 20, 2008

… WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST SUNDAY…

NEW SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 3 TO 7 INCHES IS EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING ACROSS KOOCHICHING… ITASCA… SAINT LOUIS… CASS… CROW WING… AITKIN… CARLTON AND PINE COUNTIES. THIS WILL RESULT IN STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 10 INCHES BY SUNDAY NIGHT. WINDS ARE EXPECTED STRENGTHEN AND SHIFT OUT OF THE WEST AND NORTHWEST TONIGHT AND SUNDAY. THE BREEZY CONDITIONS WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.”

“Frostbite Flats”. No other words can describe Mille Lacs conditions more accurately today. It derned cold! Yes–derned…as they’d say on the main street of Wealthwwod.

Negative 19 temp this morning. But the wind is down and the eastern horizon is forecasting sun.

We decided not to plow/open the road system before the weekend and are glad we made that choice. 7-9 inches of new fluffy snow and relentless high winds the past two days would have made the effort a waste. So today The Red Door plows will be hard at it. The plan is to have the road system in place for pulling houses starting on Friday and through out the weeekend.

Minus 20 and dropping! “Derned cold”!

Thanks for the reports!

They are very much appreciated!

And now more snow!! The Red Door area had about 7-9 inches of new snow today (Tuesday) Add a brisk wind (chill) and it was and is not pretty out there. Whiteout conditions made life on the ice almost impossible. Plows were pulled off the lake around noon. The good thing is at 18 below tonight, the exposed slushy areas should freeze up tight. Under the fresh snow—still potential slush no matter the temps. Extra blocking under your perms should be considered with yet more weight on the ice from the snow. We’ve found quite a bit of 16″ ice and as usual, have the crack to deal with as temps vary making the ice split or move together. So always check in before heading out to keep updated on the road/bridge conditions.

There were a few tough fishermen out today, that disappeared into the whiteout horizon but didn’t offer any reports on the way in.

Cold but sunny tomorrow!

The Red Door area dawned at minus 22 and bright sun. The roads plowed nicely as more houses hit the ice.

With the latest snow that tipped the ruler over 9 inches, we are not recommending ATV travel off the roads. Snow machines are a much better choice. The hard, thick banks of the roads are next to impossible for an ATV(even hard for 4 wheel drive trucks!) to break through and the the main ice surface is drifted enough that ATV’s are stuck more than moving. No matter the means of travel, please pack a shovel!

Also! At least for now, the crack closest to shore has healed up(where the bridge is) THAT means there is an “active” crack out further. Our plow guys say it’s not to far south from the south end of the Bombeck or just north of the Pantry. As of this morning, it was surely wide enough to swallow the wheels of ANY vehicle other than a snow machine. We expect that scenario to change soon (we hope) and see the crack re-appear closer to shore again–as usual. But until then, be aware of the LIVE crack running east and west, about 1.5 miles out from Knox Point.

All one can say is “here we go again!!”

… WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 6 AM CST SUNDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 6 AM SUNDAY.

SNOW… HEAVY AT TIMES… IS LIKELY SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT. STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 8 TO 10 INCHES… WITH SOME LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS… ARE EXPECTED BY SUNDAY MORNING ACROSS KOOCHICHING… ITASCA… CASS… CROW WING… AND AITKIN COUNTIES.

Hope you have the plow trucks filled up I suppose you will have to block the houses up another 4 inches too Gonna be a long winter at this rate.I guess I dont have to ask about the snowmobile trails as Im sure they will be in great shape after this one

Why fish Mille Lacs when you can ride snowmobile on the snowiest winter in a long time?

Because fishing is more fun?

Nothing like running over a few tip ups with the sled Just kidding Gonna be some great sledding this year and not much traffic seeing most people traded in their sled for a wheeler.Ill be up there soon

No doubt, this winter will be one of the best snow machine winters in a long time. The groomers have been out and keeping things in tip top shape as the new snow each week allows the drag to fill in the holes and humps that show up after busy weekends on the trails.

The Red Door is very centrally located for ridin’ snow machines on the state trails. The state groomed trail adjoins our north property line! So your group can unload the sleds at the cabin/motel and not have to load them to go anywhere until you leave. The trails are leading to many watering holes and grub factories as well. And where better to drag race if ya want, on the endless ice surface of mighty Mille Lacs. Right from your cabin at The Red Door!

Fishin’ holes, watering holes, ice roads and snow machine trails. It’s like a Super Center for winter fun!

The ice/snow conditions are improving in The Red Door country. The snow is settling and has quite a crust on it now. Maybe not the best for ATV travel yet but getting better. The slushy areas are drying up with fewer new areas of slush developing. The ice roads are holding up well but an active crack is still keeping us from going south with the roads. Another shot at heading to the Resort and Pantry and beyond will take place tomorrow (Thursday). One reminder: the banks along the roads are VERY hard and deep so trying to break through them might get you high centered and SOL for a long hard shoveling ordeal. Check in with the office if you need a driveway plowed….before you get stuck?

The snow machine trails continue to be groomed and are holding up well. The Red Door is a great place for a snow machine club/family to headquarter!

Stay safe!

As said in another posting from The Red Door, the crew put on a few ice miles yesterday.

First the scouting for potential new roads was done by snow machine. Right now, the snow pack on north Mille Lacs is crusted pretty hard as the sleds ride on top 90 percent of the time. Watching a local on a 6 wheeler ATV trying to go was a drama to say the least. So, although it can be done, ATV’s will still require shoveling and a strong back. ATV’s are breaking through the crust and into 12″-15″ of snow and possible slushy areas. Cross country travel by high riding 4×4 trucks is possible and getting better but still a gamble. Our plow trucks got stuck several times breaking trail yesterday. A tranny cooler is a must!

But it’s getting better as the snow settles and wicks up the slushy areas. Surely, another big snowfall is NOT needed.

With over 2 miles of new mudflat drop offs added to The Red Door ice world, there should be plenty of room! Be sure not to try to bust through the hard deep banks on the roads. You will be calling for a tow, no doubt. Check in at the office and have a plow make you a driveway if need be for the wheel-houses etc. It just ain’t worth dealing with a high centered truck and house!

20-40mph winds and light snow with falling temps will make the Mille Lacs ice sheet a dangerous place today–if you’re not prepared. Temps are destined to fall into the 20-30 below levels tonight and possibly the next few nights. Highs will struggle to reach zero during the week. That means a long walk back to shore after getting stuck or broke-down could be deadly. Thus, it’s smart to travel with at least a pair of snow machines and or ATV’s/trucks.

Ice conditions are stable with less new slushy areas showing up and the deep snow drifts settling. Be aware that the snow crust is hard and can high center any wheeled vehicle if things break through in a deeper drift.

PLAN for the cold this week!

Lake conditions? Word on the street in Wealthwood this morning is “it’s dern cold!” Minus 27 and falling fast.

The lake only got a skiff of snow yesterday so the winds had little drifting ability. ATV’s with chains can now, if ready to drive aggressively to get through the shrinking drifts when the wheels break through the hard packed snow, will navigate cross country in most areas.

Minus 34 dgrees this morning at Wealthwood Shores, AKA The Red Door.

Cold north winds and no new snow has the lake surface harder and is allowing some cross country ATV travel these days. One can still break through the crusted snow into some slushy areas but it’s getting better for ALL forms of travel–until the next big snow.

The weekend fishing conditions look pretty good. South winds will make it feel cooler but temps will be 50 degrees higher than they are this morning. The rising temps will make the ice sheet grow so the live main crack will crunch together and jack-knife in many places. If need be, The Red Door bridge(s) will be in place. Surely reason to check in at the office before driving out.

Will the warm weather front turn the bite on? Let us know at The Red Door before you leave this weekend!

This morning, Red Door country dawned with a skiff of overnight snow being blown/drifted by heavy NW winds. White-out conditions will persist all day. But temps are mild in the mid-teens.

The plows are and will do what they can to keep things moving. If you get confused on directions, wave one of the plow guys down and tell them which flat etc. you’d like to get to. It’s always best to ask the plow guys for directions, if you see/find one, rather than via phone to the office. White-out conditons are hard for everyone…

No fishing reports yet but stayed tuned!

The Red Door lake country snow cover is now hard enough to walk on without breaking through in most places. Snow machines are staying right on the top and ATV travel is getting to be fine as well. One could still get into trouble with the ATV so never travel without a shovel. ATV chains is a big plus in the hard pack snow.

If you have a wheel house, we still don’t suggest off road travel. You simply can not break through the road banks and break trail. So, PLEASE let the office know you need a driveway plowed and if and when a plow can get to you, they will plow you a driveway.

Fishing reports? Slow so far this week. Will the next front, coming in Friday and Saturday, turn things on?

Another week gone by without any snow added to the surface of the Mille Lacs ice in The Red Door area. Cross country travel seems pretty good for ANY means one chooses. Higher 4×4 pick-ups and ATV’ers should have a shovel a handy anyway. But the hard, cold, wind blown snow cover is hard to break through. High road banks can still be an issue so try and find a low spot to jump over and through if you decide to check out new frontiers.

Weekend temps will almost be up to sun-bathing levels. Hole hopping should be like a walk in the park.

The Red Door country/north shore conditions are a ditto of last week. No snow. More cold wind to pack the ice surface even harder and warm temps in the weekend forecast. So cross-country travel by any means is working pretty good. ATV’ers and 4×4 trucks should have a shovel close by but trouble free travel by both is predicted for the weekend.

Snow machine trails north, west and east of The Red Door are in “fast” riding condition. The drag being pulled by the Tucker, even without new snow, fills in the rough spots pretty well. And of course, the shorelines of Mille Lacs are like a snow machine speedway these days. 8-10 minutes from The Red Door to the Blue Goose via the lake??

I called your resort on the evening of 2/4 and I was told you can not get off the roads with a truck. I was told to park on the road and go from there. According to your report, it says I can get off the road with a truck? After spending the day on the lake yesterday, off road travel looked really tough. I did not see anyone off road with a truck or anyone try it either for that matter. I had the snowmobile to get around.

just need a bigger truck!

For Mille Lacs area! Will it happen? Power outages for several days? Does your fish house need blocking BEFORE the rains come?

… WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.

FREEZING RAIN… AND RAIN… WILL SPREAD OVER THE NORTHLAND THROUGH THE DAY MONDAY… PERSISTING THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT… THEN MIXING WITH SNOW TUESDAY. THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATION… AS WELL AS LOCALIZED FLOODING WITH THIS STORM. THE ICE AND RAIN WILL RESULT IN VERY DIFFICULT OR IMPOSSIBLE DRIVING CONDITIONS BY MONDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA. YOU ARE URGED TO BEGIN PREPARING FOR THIS STORM NOW. BE SURE TO HAVE A SURVIVAL KIT AND SEVERAL DAYS WORTH OF FOOD AND WATER IN YOUR HOME IF LONG TERM POWER OUTAGES OCCUR.

THIS WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION OF ICE THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL AND COMMERCE.

The weather outlook is gettin’ better! (we hope) Here’s the latest for The Red Door country:

… FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 2 PM CST MONDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM TO 2 PM CST MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

FREEZING RAIN WILL START EARLY MONDAY MORNING ACROSS THE BRAINERD LAKES AREA… AND EAST THROUGH PINE COUNTY… INCLUDING THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR. ICE ACCUMULATION OF AROUND A TENTH OF AN INCH IS POSSIBLE THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON… BEFORE THE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO TURN TO ALL RAIN. THIS ICE ACCUMULATION WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS ACROSS THE REGION.

A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF FREEZING RAIN OR FREEZING DRIZZLE WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS. SLOW DOWN AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

The rain quit and the boats are now back in the garage. It could have been worse!

The lake surface is quite a mess but will be getting better as temps go down the next few days. Standing water, as deep as a foot in some places, is creating tough travel and fishing conditions for the time being. The guys are out all of today drilling holes to drain the ice surface around the houses, in the driveways and along the main roads. So it will be like a hundred or more toilets flushing for the next few hours in The Red Door country.

The road banks are down quite a bit and in some places gone. So–even for “young ducks”–cross country travel over the frozen slushy ice surface should be pretty good by the weekend if the temps go down as predicted the next few nights. It will be bumpy but managable.

If anyone who has a “perm” out of The Red Door is not planning on coming up the last two weekends, please let us know so we can get the house off the ice–IF it’s ready to pull. No rush! Just if you have no plans on coming up the rest of the season let us know asap.

Ice grippers for your boots might be a good bet the next few days as the water freezes and becomes quite slick around the houses.

CONTRARY TO SOME TWIN CITY TV WEATHER EXPERT OPINIONS, THE ICE IS SAFE AND NOT “UNRELIABLE” DUE TO THE RECENT WARM TEMPS AND RAIN AT MILLE LACS.

Just a quck heads up to all: word on the street(ice) in downtown Wealthood is “there ain’t no banking left around any fish houses!”

So—one way to help the wind from freezing holes and blowing through the house is to cut the bottom out of 5 gallon buckets and set them down through the floor around each hole(if the floor cut out is big enough). It’s better than nothin’ and is easily retrieved–unlike using things such as carpet or the like that will freeze down around the outside of the house.

The ice has drained quite well in most places where holes have been drilled. Where there has not been drain holes cut, 2″-6″ of water is still under a crust of what is now an inch of ice. By Saturday that should be solid–we hope. As of now–sleds break through and spin the track. ATV’s and 4×4’s break through but go quite well while the ice chunks fly. Even after the water on the top of the ice freezes for the weekend, the snow machines will have trouble steering on what is now bare ice and will have zero lube for the slides on the bare ice.

Now you know…”as the world turns” in The Red Door country.