Ice thickness starting to vary: experts recommend caution
Posted Feb 22, 2011 05:45:31 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A tragedy in Barrington, N.S., has the Canadian Red Cross reminding Nova Scotians about the importance of ice safety.
Thin ice gave way under a pair of young men riding their ATVs on Oak Park Lake in Shelburne County on the weekend. A 15-year-old was rescued, but James William Stanley Kenny, 24, died in the accident. His body was recovered Monday morning.
Although it’s been a pretty chilly couple of months, experts say it only takes a couple of mild days to weaken the ice and make it treacherous.
“This is really a dangerous time when you’re talking about ice safety on lakes and rivers and ponds,” said News 95.7 meterologist Richard Zurawski. “We’ve had such a swing in temperatures, we’ve gone from -20 to almost plus five degrees and it’s been extended for a few days. So a lot of our lakes and rivers, although they appear to be solid, actually are not.”
The Canadian Red Cross recommends always checking ice thickness before heading out for hockey or hiking. Injury prevention director Wayne Young says if you have to go out, you should look for a minimum – and uniform – thickness of 30 cm, and plan your activities carefully.
“If you can stay on land when travelling at night, it’s the safest route to go,” he said. “Whenever we take part in any ice activity, it’s so important to make sure that the proper thickness is there. Unfortunately at night, visibility is poor and it’s just dangerous.”
Zurawski says on any day when temperatures are above freezing, he’d recommend staying off the ice.
“Unless you can absolutely verify by testing the ice – or the ice has been tested by someone who knows how to do it properly – it is far more important to stay off the ice than hope that it will support you,” he said. “Once you go through, it’s very difficult to get out, especially if the water is deeper than you are tall.”
Young says he’d recommend staying off the ice altogether at this time of year – but for anyone who can’t avoid a trip on the lake, he suggests wearing a buoyant snow suit and carring a pick and rope.
