Minnesota Department Of Natural Resources Warn Residents About Thin Ice

Press release from the Wright County Government:

December 18, 2020

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is warning about the danger associated with going out on ice on Minnesota lakes. While the temperatures have been consistently below freezing, typically you need a few days of temperatures around zero have ice thick enough to walk or drive on and Minnesota has yet to have such a stretch of time where ice can thicken.

For ice to be deemed safe for foot traffic, ice should be a minimum of four inches thick. For a snowmobile to be on ice, the depth should be five to seven inches. For a standard car, the depth should be eight to 12 inches. For a pickup truck, the depth needs to be 12-15 inches. The DNR adds that ice is never safe and, depending on what part of Minnesota you are planning to fish, many areas have seen temperatures too mild for the production of ice to be thick enough to handle vehicles of any kind.

As people prepare for the holiday weekend, the DNR is warning them to stay safe and be sure of the ice conditions on the lakes before venturing out.

To learn more about ice safety, click here: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/safety/ice/index.html

This press release was produced by the Wright County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.