Cold should bring thick lake ice by weekend

Lake ice should be thick enough this weekend for ice fishing, skating and snowmobiling.

Mick Klemesrud, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said ice should be three or four inches thick for skating and ice fishing, five or six inches thick for snowmobiling and about a foot thick to hold a full-sized pickup, though he doesn't advise that.

“Anywhere from five to six inches of good, clear ice,” he said, “would be snowmobile worthy.”

Under ideal conditions, with temperatures in the single digits, ice on lakes should be plenty thick by the weekend.

“You make your best ice when it's no wind at night, and the skies are clear, and the temperatures just bottom out,” said Klemesrud. “I would expect, Saturday, you're going to see a lot of ice fishing.”