makeing ice

[vern]

need to ask all the smart one,s on this board
a ???
when the overnight temp is from 5° to 10° and the day time temp is 25° to 30° with wind 10 to 15 mph,then does anyone know how much ice it should make in 24 hrs.

[stevefellegy]

The key is if there is or is not snow on it, and how thick it is at the time. Snow free ice, say 1-5 inches thick, will put on maybe an inch or a hair more in that period of time. Snow free ice, 5 inches or more will gradually get less thicker as the thickness grows. Once it is about a foot or more, it might grow in fractions of an inch in those conditions. With snow, at least 1"-2" deep or more, and not frozen hard from being windswept, will really slow the process down. 2" of ice might not grow more than 1/4-1/2 inch with 2 or more inches of fresh snow on it in those temps. Clear ice...snow free, goes fast at those temps down to about 12" to 14' inches....then slows way down until almost no thickness growth is noticed. That maybe being at 30" or more. Nothing is etched in stone (or ice) on this subject. Lake bottem and water depth or current can vary things considerably also.

[Joe]

Ice formation is dependant on alot of things. First, open water will not freeze easily when stronger winds are present. It's the only thing keeping many SE Wisconsin lakes from completely freezing over right now. However, wind has little to no effect on the thickening of ice once it is frozen over. The wind causes watermovement that resists ice formation and once the water movement is stopped by ice formation then the wind no longer effects it. After that ice formation is dependent on how fast the lake can loose the heat keeping water liquid. Clear ice with no snow on it will allow this to occur faster and can result in rapid freezing. Under these conditions you could get as much as 2 inches (and sometimes more) formed a night. Of course, this is dependent on a few things. Water depth, presence of springs, and other things. As for snow, here is how it effects things. If it snows on open water it can help to cool the water faster resulting in faster freezing. If you accumulate snow on ice then it acts as an insulator. This can impeed ice formation because it keeps the water from loosing the heat. The snow will also act as an insulator the other way to. It will protect the ice from warmer days keeping the warmth from reaching the ice and therefore keeping the ice from melting.

So, what is the ideal conditions for getting the lake ready for ice fishing? A little snow on the water to start it cooling, followed by a week of calm, cold nights to form up a good ice base, followed by a foot or two of snow to protect the ice from warm temps, followed by warmer days to allow us to get out on the ice more comfortabley.

Joe

[fishhunter]

At zero you can expect about 1in per 12 hours

[The Great Guide]

I don't think there is anyone who can give you a good answer because there are so many variables.

TGG