Don't trust early ice, Wisconsin officials warn

As winter starts to settle in across Wisconsin, the state Department of Natural Resources is cautioning the public to avoid frozen waterbodies, no matter how safe the ice appears. Anglers try their luck on the new ice on Monona Bay in Madison. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is warning the public to avoid the ice for now — no matter how safe it appears.

“It may look solid to the naked eye, but it’s not,” Lt. Jacob Holsclaw, off-highway vehicle administrator for the DNR, said in a statement Friday. “There can be, and often are, cracks and changes in the ice thickness that you will not see.



” The ice can conceal potential hazards below the surface, including currents, underground springs and debris, according to the DNR. Characteristics like currents, springs, inlets, outlets and narrows can also thin the ice. Smaller lakes may have aerators near the center or closer to private landowners’ shores or piers.

'There were angels around me,' Madison woman says after she's rescued from lake “No ice is ever considered safe ...

no matter the month,” Holsclaw said. The DNR is also asking people to stay alert for pressure ridges or ice heaves, which can happen on Lake Winnebago and on Green Bay. These formations often form, move or grow with changes in temperatures and high winds and can be dangerous because of thin ice or open water.

Local fishing clubs, outfitters and bait shops are typically the best sources for current ice conditions, the agency said. But it noted that the safest option is to avoid traveling over ice at all. A classic Oscar Mayer jingle returns Other ice safety tips from the DNR include: If you do fall in, the DNR recommends remaining as calm as you can and calling for help while attempting to get out of the water.

And it recommends that anyone who attempts to rescue you uses a rope or something similar to avoid falling through as well. Middleton's new popup holiday bar is wall-to-wall Christmas A muskrat drinks at a break in the ice on Monona Bay. People ice fish and play hockey on the ice of Monona Bay on Friday, Dec.

6, 2024 at Monona Bay in Madison, Wis. OWEN ZILIAK/STATE JOURNAL A person skates out on to the ice with their hockey stick to join a game on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 at Monona Bay in Madison, Wis.

OWEN ZILIAK/STATE JOURNAL A person skates out on to the ice with their hockey stick to join a game on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024 at Monona Bay in Madison, Wis. OWEN ZILIAK/STATE JOURNAL Get the daily forecast and severe weather alerts in your inbox! {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

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