Weather Whys: When is it safe to ice fish?

 

It has been a very mild winter so far and ice fishermen are eager to get on area lakes. We had a couple days last week with our first widespread below-zero temps since last March. Currently Milwaukee is running as the sixth warmest winter on record and the warmest since the winter of 2011-2012.

A couple more chilly days are possible this week with highs well below freezing and lows below-zero in spots. The general rule is to stay off the ice when the ice thickness is less than 2". Ice fishing can be done with ice thickness is 4" or more. You can drive ATVs and snowmobiles on ice when the thickness is at least 5" but hold off on driving cars on the lakes until at least 8". Trucks shouldn't drive on ice until the thickness is over a foot.

Weather Whys is a segment by Meteorologist Justin Thompson-Gee that airs during the CBS 58 News on WMLW - The M from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. The segment answers viewer weather questions, explains weather phenomena and reveals interesting weather stats. To submit your question reach out to Justin on Facebook, Twitter or by emailing him at JThompson-Gee@cbs58.com.