IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => General Tips => Topic started by: Bowhunter57 on Jan 11, 2011, 08:19 PM
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We've had about 4" to 5" of clear ice and the day & night time temps have been below freezing for the last 2 weeks. The temps are supposed to stay below freezing for the next 10 days.
Normally, I'd say that the ice is going to continue to increase (grow) in thickness. However, we've just got about 4" of snow on top of the ice.
Will the snow maintain the ice's thickness or will it insulate and cause the ice to melt?
What's the snow's effect on ice?
Thank you, Bowhunter57
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Snow will not cause the ice to melt.........however if there is over say 6 or more inches of snow on the ice it will somewhat insulate the ice causing it to not thicken as quick as if it was bare ice........will still make ice but just at a slightly slower rate......
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Snow will not cause the ice to melt.........however if there is over say 6 or more inches of snow on the ice it will somewhat insulate the ice causing it to not thicken as quick as if it was bare ice........will still make ice but just at a slightly slower rate......
I'll be more dramatic: unless it's very cold, the ice will thicken MUCH slower. It may not thicken unless the temps drop below 20*f or lower. Snow is a GREAT insulator. Pray for one or two days of high winds to blow most of it off. The weight of it will also push the ice down enough to bring water on top of the ice, causing slush problems
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I'll be more dramatic: unless it's very cold, the ice will thicken MUCH slower. It may not thicken unless the temps drop below 20*f or lower. Snow is a GREAT insulator. Pray for one or two days of high winds to blow most of it off. The weight of it will also push the ice down enough to bring water on top of the ice, causing slush problems
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If the ice and snow mix to create more ice, it won't be as strong as the good solid clear ice.
Be safe and stay on top.
Wiener
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Agree with all. The snow shouldn't negatively effect it...unless
Your fishing on a small pond with active springs. Spring water is 55 deg F It can insulate the warm water and reduce the ice. This happened to one of the ponds I fish. It is a really small pond, 1/8 acre. The ice decreased from 5 to 2 inches in a couple of days.
In general, I like a layer of snow. As long as your starting with a good amount of Ice it will help insulate it from sunlight and warm days, plus your not slipping and falling if you don't have traction aids.
As always, be careful. Good luck
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How's this for a negative impact - Buddy put his plow truck through the ice last Monday on Lake of the Woods about 20' from shore.
14" of ice and more all over the lake EXCEPT the bay in front of his place where snow had been accumulating. We've had -20 temps for weeks and hit -35 for a while in December. Still managed to only make 4" ice where he went through. People just don't believe how well snow insulates.
Ask someone with a septic bed or shallow water lines how excited they are when snowmobilers travel across their property and pack down the insulating cover of snow >:(
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we have plenty of places 6in plus most with more
lows reaching down to 5º-10ºf
tomorrow high 25º low 5º-10ºf
hopefully this snow wont hurt my local res / lakes / ponds too much =/
Danbury: 23.9 inches of snow
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I like snow on top of my roof. It helps to insulate the house. ;D
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I'll be more dramatic: unless it's very cold, the ice will thicken MUCH slower. It may not thicken unless the temps drop below 20*f or lower. Snow is a GREAT insulator. Pray for one or two days of high winds to blow most of it off. The weight of it will also push the ice down enough to bring water on top of the ice, causing slush problems
much agreed
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I don't like more snow than the wife is willing to shovel... ;D
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as stated before, it will slow down the ice making process. you stated you had 4-5 of clear ice a couple weeks ago, and it has been pretty cold, so ice is more like 6-7 now. and then you got the snow. that sounds perfect to me. good clear 7 inch ice is enough for a wheeler, and the snow should provide a little traction if walking. i love snow on the ice when walking around.
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also cuts down on the light getting to the water
dr.bennett's report states only 1-3% of light through 5in snow over 3in ice
;D ;D ;D ;D
rat
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It makes it hard to see. ::)
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how does snow insulate ice so htat it doesn't make good ice. the temperature it is insulating is the temperature of the ice. so lets say the ice is 32*, then its 20 degrees out. so lets say the temp balances inbetween the two temps. that will still make good ice. tell me how i'm wrong
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how does snow insulate ice so htat it doesn't make good ice. the temperature it is insulating is the temperature of the ice. so lets say the ice is 32*, then its 20 degrees out. so lets say the temp balances inbetween the two temps. that will still make good ice. tell me how i'm wrong
The water under the ice is not frozen, so it is obviously warmer than 32 degrees. The air above the snow is colder than 32 degrees. The snow insulates the ice from the air, slowing ice formation. Ice will still form under snow, just at a much slower rate. The insulation will also magnify the effect of any current present, allowing the ice to get thinner, sometimes dramatically so. I wouldn't say that you couldn't have good ice forming with a layer of snow, but I would say that good ice forms much quicker without the snow. When you get into the far north, the snow build-up on top of the ice frequently leads to slush. (Water overflows onto the ice because of the weight of the snow pushing down.) When this happens, you get no ice formation until the slush freezes. I have seen slush on the ice after a week of -30 degree weather, so that is water on top of the ice and under the snow, trapped between 2 things that are a minimum of -32. Snow is a very good insulator. Stay Safe!
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Here's an example of how well snow insulates. Yesterday I fished a lake that has been frozen awhile. It was less than ten degrees when I arrived and never got warmer than 22. It hadn't been above freezing for a couple days, and lows were in the teens. Despite all that, there was still water trapped between the packed down snow (a few in. which was crunchy on top) and the ice which was mostly 5-6in. or so. We are finally going to get ice here in the South, but if it snows any real amount, (Fri.) it could well screw our chances of having any kind of season down here. :(
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snow really makes a amazing difference ,i have seen it not make any ice at all with 4in clear 20 degrees and 5-6 in of snow.
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how does snow insulate ice so htat it doesn't make good ice. the temperature it is insulating is the temperature of the ice. so lets say the ice is 32*, then its 20 degrees out. so lets say the temp balances inbetween the two temps. that will still make good ice. tell me how i'm wrong
reverse engineering young man its not the ice temps but the water temps ice grows from the bottom and melts from the top and bottom,as the snow increases the heat transfer from the water to the ice to the air is impeded so it either stops freezin or melts
just saying and stayed at a holiday innn expreesss lol
GOD BLESS YOU
mo
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In addition the impact it has on the ice conditions it just makes walking on the ice that much harder. I hate it!
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reverse engineering young man its not the ice temps but the water temps ice grows from the bottom and melts from the top and bottom,as the snow increases the heat transfer from the water to the ice to the air is impeded so it either stops freezin or melts
just saying and stayed at a holiday innn expreesss lol
GOD BLESS YOU
mo
Thank you. I was waiting for the one person to talk about how ice forms and thickens from the bottom and NOT the top.
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reverse engineering young man its not the ice temps but the water temps ice grows from the bottom and melts from the top and bottom,as the snow increases the heat transfer from the water to the ice to the air is impeded so it either stops freezin or melts
just saying and stayed at a holiday innn expreesss lol
GOD BLESS YOU
mo
The first time I read this I thought "Hunhh?!?!"
After I read it a couple more times, I started to see what you were saying. It is natural to think of cold, getting cold, and freezing as a positive process. As you have stated, it is actually the removal of heat, not the addition of cold that best describes the actual process. The only point I would disagree on is "its not the ice temps but the water temp". Under the ice, the water temperatures are fairly constant, varying from 32 degrees up to about 37 degrees (at 37 degrees, water is at its most dense, so that is the usual temperature at the bottom of a lake in the winter. This assumes no springs and minimal current) Air, snow and ice all have the potential to be colder than 32 degrees, fresh water does not. As the temperature of the ice is cooled by the air, the water next to the ice freezes. The blanket of snow is just that, an insulating blanket. Under the ice, the water is always warmer than the ice, always trying to melt it. The air must be significantly colder than the water in order to remove enough heat from the water to cause it to freeze.
Not surprisingly, it seems to be much more difficult to put my thoughts into a clear, concise, orderly statement than it was to think the up the definitive response in my head. After reading what I have written, I am pretty sure I didn't succeed. Oh well.....