what does snow on top do to ice?

[Robbie L]

HI all,
    I am looking for someone who has years of experience with ice fishing to help me out.
I am in PA, and there is a lake that had about 3 and a half inches of ice on it. We just got
snow of about 30 inches on top. I have heard that the snow keeps the ice from forming
but also from melting. I have also heard that 30 inches of snow could sink the ice.
Can someone with a lot of knowledge on this please help out.
                                            Thanks, catch the big one, Rob

P.S. 172 acre lake

[Spider1]

dude, stop spammin the same question all over. You'll get plenty of answers by just asking it once... some might even be right.

there's several things that come into play here. One is weight. Wet snow is very heavy. If you don't have a very thick sheet of ice 2 ft or more of snow is gonna weigh it down alot and make it dangerous. Another one is the fact that snow will insulate the ice, keeping cold from getting to it. As it melts and gets heavy it will sag the ice, drain through already open holes and cracks and further make ice weak.

then there's the very most important. you won't know what is under the snow. It will hide all the dangers that it has created and all the dangers that were already there. At this moment, in PA, there is NO SAFE ICE.

be patient and wait out the spring like the rest of us.

[AndyJ]

30" of snow on 3 1/2" of ice sounds iffy to me, though I have never seen that condition here. That is a lot of weight, the ice will deform down under the pressure and likely will form relief fractures where it is locked to points, narrows and between islands. That means slush. I would stay away from that lake.

[Robbie L]

dude, stop spammin the same question all over. You'll get plenty of answers by just asking it once... some might even be right.

there's several things that come into play here. One is weight. Wet snow is very heavy. If you don't have a very thick sheet of ice 2 ft or more of snow is gonna weigh it down alot and make it dangerous. Another one is the fact that snow will insulate the ice, keeping cold from getting to it. As it melts and gets heavy it will sag the ice, drain through already open holes and cracks and further make ice weak.

then there's the very most important. you won't know what is under the snow. It will hide all the dangers that it has created and all the dangers that were already there. At this moment, in PA, there is NO SAFE ICE.

be patient and wait out the spring like the rest of us.

Hi, thanks for that response. I have heard from some that ice forms from underneath, and that snow will limit, but not
entirely stop the freezing process. This lake had 3 inches (probably 4 by the time the storm started) and the edges were tight.
I know about the access road, but the temps will stay below freezing for the next week.
Did not mean to spam at all, just to ask a wide range of opinions.      Rob

[Spoondangler]

Hi, thanks for that response. I have heard from some that ice forms from underneath, and that snow will limit, but not
entirely stop the freezing process. This lake had 3 inches (probably 4 by the time the storm started) and the edges were tight.
I know about the access road, but the temps will stay below freezing for the next week.
Did not mean to spam at all, just to ask a wide range of opinions.      Rob

I like how you asked the snow experts, Alaska and Ontario. Seriously though, stay off the lake.  Id love to fish as well, and was out on a similar ice on Monday, but that snow is gonna add up to some weight. Think about shoveling even light snow, its heavy.  Finally think about trying to get back on top in those conditions! Not fun.

[fishonthebrain]

New ice is not going to form this late in the season under that much snow. It's going to be a slushy mess out there. I would stay off this ice and live to fish another day.

[RuttNutt]

I've seen what a couple feet of snow can do to 10-12" of ice. I don't want to see what it will do to 3 or 4!    I have been holding out hope, but yesterday's snow has ended it for me! 

[ship of fools]

An inch of snow insulates the ice enough to almost stop ice from forming.

[Spider1]

remember that one year Rutt, we would take a step and bust through the crust into 1 1/2 foot of ice water and slush with a foot of ice under that. then take another step and bust through again! man that was a miserable day!

[fishermantim]

Unless you have a lot of ice BEFOREHAND, the snow will only hurt the ice.
The ice may have reformed prior to the storm due to exposure to colder air above. Once that air is cut off from the ice, the water temps will take over, so that if the ice was melting before, it will continue to do so after.

The snow's insulating properties can either be good or bad, depending on the existing conditions prior to the snowfall.
The snow will also add extra weight, which WILL destroy weak ice, and might cause it to sag and crack. That's where the slush forms on top.

I would really think long and hard about whether you want to risk all for "one more trip".

That's why I hate the winter/spring transitional period...you get stuck between ice and open water season with little or no options.

[RuttNutt]

remember that one year Rutt, we would take a step and bust through the crust into 1 1/2 foot of ice water and slush with a foot of ice under that. then take another step and bust through again! man that was a miserable day!

Yep! That is exactly what I was thinking about when I made that last post! That day was what caused me to buy snowshoes!    Unfortunately, they won't help when you break thru the crust AND the thin layer of ice underneath all that slush! That is a deathtrap if you ask me! 

[buz23]

The south end of my local lake (Saratoga in upstate NY) partly refroze in the few frigid days before our recent 20" storm.  The ice went out about 3 weeks before that.  Probably only 1-2" thick because although it was cold it was also windy.  Within several days, the 20" of snow had changed into ice, and there was actually someone out fishing on it.  Two thirds of the lake is still open.

[IFF]

You might as well schedule a hurst, to pick you up if your thinking about going on that PA ice.  Death trap just looking for a victum

[northernnyice]

30" of snow on a 3" of ice? Not a biggie. I'd take your snowmobile..





I would stay off it.