Have warm temperatures led to thinner ice?

NORTH DAKOTA (KVRR) – Warmer temperatures have caused lots of melting of snow and ice.

Lake ice thickness still seems to remain unaffected.

“We are about average and that’s just really a mathematical equation of extremes. Where we are at in the mid-part of February in terms of ice thickness and into snowpack, while it may seem that some areas had a little more snow, may seem some spots have a little more ice or a little less ice,” North Dakota Game and Fish Biologist Doug Leier said.

Anglers need to be cautious of the ice thickness and there are several ways to make sure the ice is thick enough to walk on.

“The best thing that you can do is you use an ice auger and that will drill a hole into the ice and you can see earlier on our later, it’s always a good idea to call it a spud bar, and it’s a chipper and you can chip and if you are chipping in the ice and it’s breaking through, you are on pretty thin ice. So, there’s different devices to use to gauge the ice thickness,” Leier said.

Safety precautions are important to use if you are planning to take a trip to go ice fishing.

“There are float coats that are basically a nice warm big jacket should you break through the ice. That will actually float you or to what a life jacket would. There’s things like ice claws you can use if you fall into the water or through the ice,” Leier said.

Leier also encourages anglers to bring a partner in case you need help.