MINNEAPOLIS — In a true sign of spring, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has declared official ice-out dates for six lakes in the state.

All six lakes are shallow bodies of water in southern Minnesota. They were officially declared ice-free last week.

The first was Iowa Lake in Martin County, which saw ice-out on Tuesday. The other five lakes were Hall Lake, Budd Lake, Park Lake, Smith Lake and Lake Shetek.

The Star Tribune reports the spring thaw is starting a few weeks later than usual, after a bitterly cold winter.

None of the lakes in the Twin Cities metro area have been declared ice-free. The metro-area lakes usually see ice-out around the beginning of April.