Ice shack falls through lake in Todd County

TODD COUNTY, MN — An ice house fell through the ice in Todd County Tuesday night, reported WCCO.  This prompted Herald Journal to look up the recommended ice thickness for lakes by the DNR, as reported below.

When is ice safe?

According to the DNR, there really is no sure answer. You can’t judge the strength of ice just by its appearance, age, thickness, temperature, or whether or not the ice is covered with snow. Strength is based on all these factors — plus the depth of water under the ice, size of the water body, water chemistry and currents, the distribution of the load on the ice, and local climatic conditions.

For New, Clear Ice Only

* 2″ or less – STAY OFF

* 4″ – Ice fishing or other activities on foot

* 5″ – Snowmobile or ATV

* 8″ – 12″ – Car or small pickup

* 12″ – 15″ – Medium truck

Remember that these thicknesses are merely guidelines for new, clear, solid ice. Many factors other than thickness can cause ice to be unsafe.

Checking ice thickness

No matter what you are going to do once you get on the ice – like fishing, snowmobiling, skating or even ice boating, it’s a good idea to contact a local bait shop or resort on the lake about ice conditions. It’s also important to do some checking yourself once you get there. Several factors affect the relative safety of ice, such as temperature, snow cover and currents. But a very important factor is the actual ice thickness.

For more information, check out the DNR recommendations by clicking here.