Local lakes being cleared off as ice conditions are up to snuff for outdoor skating

“This has been about the ninth day in a row where it’s been -20 or even colder at night and we’ve finally got some decent ice that’s 12 inches thick so we can open it to the public.”

The cold temperatures also mean residents should dress for the weather.

Here are the current ice conditions for the designated skating areas:

– Chinook Lake: Average ice thickness of 12 inches, Good/Snow Covered, and does meet City of Lethbridge standards for public use

– Henderson Lake: Average ice thickness of 12.5 inches, Good/Snow Covered and does meet City of Lethbridge standards for public use

– Nicholas Sheran Lake: Average ice thickness of 12.25 inches, Good/Snow Covered and does meet City of Lethbridge standards for public use

Each winter, Parks staff assess ice conditions once a week in designated outdoor skating areas to determine whether they meet our standards for public use.

The minimum average ice thickness must be at least 10 inches.
It usually does take this long into winter for staff to clear the lakes for outdoor use, as Jensen explains a lot depends on the kind of climate in the area.

“Last year at about the same time we opened the ice and it lasted for about two days before we had a chinook and we had to close it down again,” Jensen added.

The following criteria are used to assess the ice for public use:
–    The presence of standing water or open water
–    The amount of freezing that has occurred
–    Snow cover
–    Present thickness of the ice
–    Present condition of the ice
–    Present clarity of the ice
–    Air temperature

Factoring all that in, and based on the current forecast, Jensen says it’s looking good for ice conditions until the end of February.

“We don’t know as soon as a Chinook hits because you get a change of 20 degrees in 24 hours and you have to shut things down. We only check certain areas, the demarcated areas that we’re clearing off the snow, but other than that we don’t check. If you venture out there, you’re on your own.”

Parks staff are still working on Legacy Park Lake to prepare it for outdoor skating and the goal is to transition outdoor skating from Chinook Lake to Legacy Park Lake next year.

Skating on any local storm ponds is prohibited at all times because they’re not checked or monitored like the local lakes.

“They’re all over the city and we don’t know how thick they are,” Jensen continued. “There could be contaminants, differences in water level, there are all kinds of reasons the ice will be not uniform thickness. If you go out there you could fall in and cause yourself some serious injury.”

Parks staff will continue monitoring the thickness of ice around Lethbridge throughout the winter and updates will be posted weekly here.

by Aaron Mahoney (@Mahones93 on Twitter)

Local lakes being cleared off as ice conditions are up to snuff for outdoor skating

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