Cold weather is upon us, and with that comes winter activities. Some of us enjoy ice activities like ice fishing and ice skating. While ice is beautiful, it can be deadly. Ice can be tricky and is never 100% safe. Typically, ice does not usually freeze uniformly in one location. We’ll discuss necessary safety equipment, safety tips, factors that influence ice formation and strength, signs of weak or rotting ice, and different types of ice.
SAFETY EQUIPMENT
If going onto ice you should ALWAYS have the minimum safety equipment:
- Dress in layers. See my post about how to layer.
- Wear a PFD/life jacket or float coat that FIT PROPERLY AND IS PROPERLY FASTENED – this will keep you floating at the surface if you become too exhausted or incapacitated from the cold.
- Carry ice awls
- Carry a rope to throw to someone in need or to use for yourself
- Tie the rope to a tree on shore and stretch it out over the ice to where you’re fishing so you can grab onto it quickly if you get into trouble
- Carry a set of dry clothes
SAFETY TIPS
- Never go alone
- Test the ice. Test the ice by driling holes as you get further from shore. Stay alert for differences in ice thickness and appearance.
- Make an emergency plan. Make sure everyone in your fishing party knows what to do if something happens.
- Be aware of changing conditions. I discuss this further down.
- Stay away from structures – manmade or natural. Logs, piers, rocks, weeds, etc. These objects absorb sunlight and emit heat (decaying plant material emits heat), so the ice around these objects could be weak or thin.
- Learn self-rescue techniques.
- Keep pets on a leash. Unfortunately, hundreds of pets are killed each year by falling through the ice. Having a leash on your pet can keep them from running on to ice and can provide a way to pull them to safety if they fall in.
- Understand the effects of cold water submersion
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE ICE FORMATION AND STRENGTH
Temperature
As the surface water cools it eventually reaches freezing point, leading to ice formation. Long periods of cold temperatures facilitate stronger, denser, and sturdier ice. The entire body of water has to be 39.2 degrees Fahrenheit before the surface can get to freezing temperature.
Wind
Cold, steady wind enhances the cooling process, leading to ice formation. Strong winds create waves that erodes forming ice or break it apart.
Sunlight
Sunlight can slow down or prevent ice formation, especially during daylight hours. Limited sunlight will increase ice formation. Ice may thaw during the day due to warm temperatures and refreeze at night, resulting in weak, spongy, or honeycomb-like ice.
Moving Water
Rivers, waves, streams, inlets, outlets are less likes to freeze compared to still water. Moving water erodes the ice mantle from the bottom. The flow of water prevents it from reaching the freezing point, resulting in thinner and weaker ice. Solid ice struggles to form due to continuous flexing, moving, eroding of ice mantle. If you fall through the ice, the current underneath can sweep you further away from where you fell in. The chances of coming up directly where you fall through is pretty low, leading to being trapped under the ice mantle.
Objects or Vegetation
Logs, trees, rocks, etc in the water absorb heat from the sun and release it back into the surrounding water, resulting in weak or thin ice around the object.
Snowfall
Snow creates porous granular ice. Snow on the ice surface acts as an insulator, slowing down the freezing process. Accumulated snow adds weight, impacting overall strength and stability of the ice. Snow also hides signs of changing ice conditions and weakened ice. A recent snowfall also can warm and melt existing ice.
SIGNS OF WEAK AND ROTTING ICE
Standing water or slush
This indicates melting of the ice.
Underground springs or moving water
Flow of warmer water under the ice weakens the ice from underneath
Shore Ice
Ice near the shore tends to be weaker due to closeness to the land, fluctuating water temperatures, and sunlight reflecting off the bottom. Shore ice is the first to freeze because of this, and also is the first to thaw.
Bridges and Roadways
Ice under bridges or immediately adjacent to a roadway can be weak due to road salt or other pollutants.
LEARN TO READ THE ICE
- Light gray to dark black – Melting ice, this can occur even if the air temperature is below 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). This ice is not safe, it will be a weak density and cannot hold weight, STAY OFF.
- White to opaque – This is water-saturated snow that froze on top of the ice which forms another thin ice layer. This can often lead to air pockets from being so porous.
- Blue to clear – High density, very strong, safest ice to be on if thick enough, you should stay off if under 4 inches (10cm) thick.
- Mottled and slushy or “rotten” ice – when judging this type of ice, it won’t be so much the color but the texture. You can tell by the ice thawing and slushy. This type of ice can be deceptive as it might seem thick at the top, however it is “rotting” away at the center and base. Most prevalent to see this kind of ice in the spring, it may even show signs of mud, debris, and plant matter surfacing from the bottom of the water body.
