Clear ice that has a bluish tint is the strongest. Ice formed by melted and refrozen snow appears milky, and is very porous and weak.

Materials like air, water, and clear glass are called transparent. When light encounters transparent materials, almost all of it passes directly through them. Glass, for example, is transparent to all visible light. Translucent objects allow some light to travel through them.

Transparent rhymes with apparent, and both mean, roughly, clear or easily visible. Since transparent objects are clear and light is easily visible through them, this mnemonic should help you remember when to use transparent. If no light passes through, the object is opaque.

New ice is usually much stronger than old ice. Direct freezing of still water makes stronger ice than that formed by melting snow, refrozen ice, or ice made by water bubbling up through cracks and freezing on the surface. Clear blue/black ice is stronger than milky white ice. Ice near the shore is weakest.

Shallow lakes will freeze more quickly than deep lakes. Once the atmosphere warms up, the ice will melt!

Streams are carrying cooler water. They’re not accumulating heat, they’re always moving. So if you’re bringing in water from a stream, that’s actually keeping that lake water a little cooler, so it’s going to freeze a little faster in the fall.

Because shallower pond/lake bottoms get more exposure to sunlight, shallower/small lakes thaw faster. Also, If you think of it, the shorelines of smaller lakes thaw faster as well, there’s less surface area to thaw/warm, thus when melted, shorelines aid in over all lake thaw.

Here’s how to determine whether the ice on your pond is thick enough and safe for wintertime fun.

• Check Its Temperature, Formation. After about two to three weeks of freezing temperatures, a solid sheet of ice will begin to form on your pond or lake.
• Check Surface for Quality.
• Verify Its Thickness.
• Be Patient, Stay Safe.