DULUTH, Minn. — Minnesotans may be seeing some record-breaking late ice-in dates for lakes across the state, although a lack of accurate data may not allow for much verification.

Shagawa Lake in Ely still had areas of open water on Wednesday, staff at Grand Ely Lodge confirmed Thursday. That breaks the old record of latest ice-in of Dec. 10 set in 2002. Shagawa on average freezes over by Nov. 20.

No one had ever seen open water previously at Christmastime on Lake Pokegama near Grand Rapids.

“As of this morning we still have lots of open water” on Christmas Eve, said Randy McCarty, who lives on the lake. The previous latest ice-in was Dec. 20, 2001.

Lake Bemidji officially froze over Dec. 19, just a day shy of its record set in 2001, said Pete Boulay of the Minnesota State Climatology Office.

Clear satellite photographs have been rare this month, one of the cloudiest Decembers on record, Boulay said. But a peak through the clouds on Dec. 19 showed at least some open water on Winnibigoshish, Leech, Lake of the Woods, Upper and Lower Red Lakes and Lake Mille Lacs. Most lakes in the Twin Cities also had some open water, as did some larger, deeper lakes in the Brainerd area, Boulay noted.

By Dec. 24, satellite photos showed that Lake of the Woods, the Red Lakes and Winnie appeared to be iced-over.

“Ice-in dates are a lot harder to figure, especially if you can’t see across the lake. Sometimes it comes in and then goes out. … We just don’t have as much good data statewide for ice-in dates as we do for ice-out in the spring,” Boulay said. “But it’s pretty clear that we have some of the latest, if not the latest, dates for some lakes in Minnesota. We usually see most lakes ice-over in November. We’re a month later than that and still have a lot of open water.”

Boulay is asking any Minnesotans with accurate records on lake ice-in dates to contact him at climate@umn.edu.

“I’d love to get good data for a lot more lakes. I’m sure some people have been keeping their own records,” he said, noting most people seem to pay closer attention to spring ice-out dates.

Records with more than 20 consecutive years are especially sought after.

Many of the shallower lakes near Duluth froze over in November but never gained much ice, although anglers have been walking out on several area lakes. Chalstroms Bait Shop outside Duluth says anglers are reporting 4 to 7 inches of ice on some lakes, but ice conditions vary greatly. There’s even some open water on Rice Lake near where a creek flows in.

Boulay said November and December, statewide, both will be among the top-five warmest in recorded state history. So far in Duluth it has been the second-warmest December since records have been kept starting in 1870.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been warning residents to stay off untested lakes until colder weather makes more ice. The DNR suggests at least 4 inches of solid, clear ice for people to walk; 5 inches for a snowmobile or ATV; 8-12 inches for a car or small pickup; and 12-15 inches for a larger pickup truck.

Northern lakes should see more ice after a cold snap this weekend. Low temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits Sunday with some below-zero readings Monday morning, including the possibility of Duluth’s first below-zero temperature of the winter.

The cool snap won’t last, though, with highs back above normal, well into the 20s, by Tuesday.