Wind affect on Snow Covered Ice

Just wondering what effect wind has on ice that has a snow covering of six inches or more.
had lots of ice here in montana but the weather this week is in the 40’s and windy
Thanks John

W

2 things that wind CAN do to ice.

Here on Mille Lacs in MN, which is roughly 18miles long x 13mi across and 20mi diagonal, wind over a large distance of ice can easily break 6″ of ice. Cracks MAY open or ice MAY even be crumbled.

Not so much this year but the last 2 the strong and switching wind kept a huge chunk of ice moving back and forth in the middle of the lake and just took for ever to stabilize. The sheet was miles across.

Also with the warm temps you say you are having, standing water can really chew ice when being pushed by the wind.

Granted these are all things that CAN happen. Be safe when in doubt and check thickness often. By asking what can happen is already a great step in the right direction by becoming more educated.

Am I reading correctly there is 6+” of snow on top of lots of ice? Is the thought the warm windy weather may deteriorate the ice conditions?

Current/Spring areas might be of concern as they always are. Wind will potentially push the ice around as mentioned but the snow will have a significant amount of air in it. This will make it a better insulator until it’s gone. Sun angle is still relatively low so it wont work as well on the snow/ice like it will later in March. If you have snow cover the ground is still frozen so you’ll need a lot of heat to make a difference. I’m thinking the warm windy weather will have an impact on the snow pack but not the ice. You wont be making any ice but until you melt the snow pack it’s not going anywhere.

Thanks for all your replies.
John

I fang dang GUARANTEE you that when it’s windy on the ice, my head gets cold and need a hat of some sort. I DO NOT however find my choice of hat to impact the ice thickness or heaving in any way. That’s about all I know.

You need to put some hair on that head JD..