Spring officially starts Thursday, but several lakes are already clear of ice, well ahead of normal.

If you're itching to get out on the water, a new tool from the University of Minnesota Duluth offers Minnesotans an estimate of when their favorite lakes will shed their winter layers.

This year, Minnesota Sea Grant has added a feature to its Minnesota Lakes Ice-Out Clock allowing users to look up a forecast for specific lakes.

"It's already looking up weather info for you — where the lake is in the world, how big the lake is, and also how much thawing and freezing there's been," Minnesota Sea Grant director and project leader John Downing said.

With updated predictions every day, he says there is one big driver for the tool — the tourism industry — with more than a billion dollars of economic benefits each year from fishing and boating in the state.  

"We anticipate that seasonal businesses and outdoor enthusiasts will find value in our ice-out forecasting tool," Downing said. "Because Minnesota's economy and well-being is deeply tied to its lakes, ice-out forecasting plays a major role in helping businesses maximize their sometimes short operating windows and helps people seeking outdoor recreation opportunities adapt to changing weather outcomes."

Given how drastic our recent winters have been with climate change impacting ice out and ice in dates, Downing hopes this will help.  

The program said the tool uses historical records and data from the National Weather Service and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to estimate when ice-out will occur on a given lake.

To obtain a forecast, users can go to the Ice-Out Clock website, select a county and then select a lake. They'll be given three forecasts based on seasonal snowfall levels: low, average and high. This can be estimated using data from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Forecasts will be available each year starting Jan. 1, so users can track the changing forecast throughout the season. The tool becomes more accurate as the season progresses.

Minnesota Sea Grant notes that the tool estimates when lakes will be free of ice, but it does not show when ice is safe. 

"Ice conditions can and do change rapidly, and safety is the responsibility of each individual," the program said.  

The program will held a free webinar on March 7 to discuss this year's ice-out forecast. 

Deadlines to remove fish houses from the state's frozen lakes have passed. For those in the lower two-thirds of the state, the deadline for removal was March 3, while those further north had until March 17.