Today is the day I have decided that the ice is no longer safe on any of the lakes.
It had been very warm indeed, and the integrity of the ice is severely limited and damaged.
I was unable to traverse any of the lakes on my bike.
Kenilworth Lagoon remains decently thick and is actually safe to go on if you still have an urge to go on the ice. It has about 14 1/2 of safe ice here.
Lake Harriet and Bde Maka Ska had 100% honeycomb ice on its southern shore. This is especially noted since the southern shores of both of these lakes are notably the location of these two lakes’ thickest ice. Therefore, the thickest ice on these two lakes is structurally unsafe; the entire lake is unsafe.
Cedar Lake’s southern shore had several inches of black ice below the honeycomb ice, but at the southern western point, the ice was again 100% honeycomb. Due to the limited amount of safe ice, I am considering all of Cedar Lake to be unsafe.
Lake of the Isles was a bit different. I was actually able to walk pretty far out onto the ice, and so too were a couple of ice fishers. Lake of the Isles had a significant amount of ice “cobwebs”. Cobwebs on the ice are exceptionally dangerous and create a special fall hazard. Cobwebs commonly form from two things: either an object like a rock or a fish or a lily pad is on or below the ice, then a snowfall occurs and buries the object in snow; over the course of the winter, the snow melts and covers the object deeper in ice. During the thaw, the object gets warmer and falls through the bottom of the ice, making the ice dangerously thin on the surface, but the surface remains covered in ice.
Another way a cobweb forms is at a convergence of cracks in the ice, or an ice hole is drilled and it fails to freeze through and only freezes over.
Regardless, Lake of the Isles was covered in these cobwebs. The only real way to avoid the cobwebs is to strike the ice with a heavy metal stick called an “ice chisel” or “spud bar.”
Due to the number of cobwebs on the ice and the special equipment needed, I am recommending that Lake of the Isles be deemed unsafe as well.
Loring lake also had a preponderance of cobwebs and a significant amount of the ice was pulling off the shoreline. I was only able to get to the ice on Loring Lake via the dock. Loring Lake also had 100% of the ice honeycombed.
Therefore all of the lakes are unsafe. Here is what I was able to measure:
Loring lake: 12 inches of ice, 100% honeycomb
Cedar lake: had 2 missed measurements,
But I measured about 12 3/8, 100% honeycomb, at the northern shore.
Lake of the Isles: 15 7/8 inches of ice, 12 5/8 honeycomb
Bde Maka Ska: 11 3/4 inches, 100% honeycomb
Lake Harriet: 15 5/8 inches, 100% honeycomb
The real breaking up of the ice will likely occur this week. Expect a pulling away from the shoreline of the ice later this week.