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By Meteorologist Joe Martucci
The Jersey Shore has had more ice the past two weeks than at any point since December 2017 – January 2018. More seasonable temperatures this week melted some of that, but a full thaw won’t come soon. That gives us opportunities to enjoy the ice, as long as we keep some important safety tips in mind.
Once Jan. 4 came, most of our days were spent below freezing. Ice first developed on the freshwater ponds in the first week of January. By Jan. 9, ice had formed on the edges of the saltwater back bays. I captured drone footage of ice on Beach Thorofare in Atlantic City, right off West End Avenue.
That stayed more or less the same for a while. However, the arctic outbreak last week, caused by the polar vortex, expanded the ice deeper into the back bays. Big bays like the Barnegat and the Delaware, formed ice on them as well.
Ice provides our cold, barren, Jersey Shore winter with opportunities for outdoor activities. Pond hockey, ice fishing, even just walking on the ice far away from the beaches, give us unique opportunities to enjoy our beautiful environment in a different way. However, especially in salt and tidal water, safety is paramount.
The first step, before setting foot on the ice, is to check with your local police or fire department about ice conditions. Call their non-emergency phone number. They may even post about it on their website or social media as well.
As part of the ice report, they should list how thick the ice is. That’s important. What you can do out on the ice is determined by how thick the ice is.
Put simply, anything below 4 inches of ice is too thin to be out on. Even your own body weight is too heavy to be supported on that ice.
For walking, ice fishing or ice skating, ice at least 4 inches thick is mandatory, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, although if you and three friends are sitting close together ice fishing, that 4-inch ice thickness guidance is not enough, either.
If you’re itching to take your all-terrain vehicle from the dirt roads to the ice roads, you’ll need at least 7 inches of ice to do it safely. You would struggle to find ice that thick around here. Just for reference, if you want to take a car out, you need at least 9 inches of ice.
That’s only on new, clear ice. If snow melts then freezes on the ice to create what is called white ice, then the ice is half as strong, which means the recommended thickness should be doubled.
For rivers, streams and especially bays, the moving water creates uneven ice. But there are ways to even out the area you’re going to utilize on the ice.
When I used to play hockey on the Rahway River in Union County growing up, we had a pump that would throw water on the ice the day before to smooth over the bumps for the next day’s use. You don’t want to catch an edge and send yourself down to the surface.
If you must measure the ice yourself, you’ll want an ice auger. That’s a tool with a circular, swirling shaft which, depending on the design, can be used manually or mounted to a drill to easily cut through ice. Make sure you’re standing straight up and then drill straight down. Lift it up once you cut through the ice. Then, with a tape measure, determine the thickness.
There’s plenty of safety factors to take into consideration, but once you’re out on the ice, there’s almost nothing like it. Breathing in the icy, dry air can be invigorating. And, for a region that is tied to the water, being able to enjoy it when beach season seems far, far away is a joy.
