Temperature shifts put Minnesotans on thin ice

From a quiet landing on the Lake Minnetonka shoreline, Rick Piepho watched a white truck blazing across the ice. Other vehicles were scattered across the lake, many alongside icehouses. But this truck was the only one moving.

Piepho, an ice fisherman himself, figured the driver was a kid messing around. He can rattle off stories he's heard about falls through the ice, along with the reasons behind them — inexperienced drivers crossing treacherous channels, adventurous commuters rushing for a shortcut across town.

"I'm sure that's what people are thinking," he said. "But if you don't get there, it's not really much of a ­shortcut."

During the first week of February, as predictable as a midwinter thaw, three vehicles fell through the Lake Minnetonka ice in a 24-hour period. It's become a staple of Minnesota winters, with ice fishing drawing hundreds of vehicles onto frozen lakes where the ice can seem deceptively stable.

This winter's dramatic temperature changes have made for some especially unpredictable ice.

"You might drive across one day and it's perfectly good, and the next day or that night coming back there's a 10-foot hole because the ice spread apart," said Aaron Kahre, assistant training coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

In the last two winters combined, 28 vehicles have gone through ice in Hennepin County alone. Three people died as a result in 2012-2013; last year's frigid winter meant thicker ice and no casualties.

"In Minnesota, 10 months out of the year the water's going to be cold," Kahre said. "And you're going to have to sit there and take it for a while before you can exit the car."

To keep from getting stuck in a sinking car, Kahre said, people driving on ice sometimes don't wear seat belts or open their windows or doors. For those who do end up in the water, staying calm eases the return to the surface — and helps them avoid losing track of the hole in the ice.

No one was injured in this month's three ice plunges, two involving automobiles and one snowmobile. But all of the drivers drove past thin-ice warning signs.

"We always preach that ice is never safe. You have to be aware of your surroundings and the changing conditions," said Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek, whose office has posted warning signs this winter around boat launches and channels.

Channels present a particular hazard, with weak ice covering constantly moving water. Avoiding them is "ice fishing 101," Piepho said. But on Friday afternoon, when he was working around Lake Minnetonka, the gathering intensity of the sunlight and relatively balmy 30 degrees had Piepho on the lookout.

For Kahre, the trick is to not be the one to show others how far the ice will hold.

"My personal philosophy is, I'm never the first one out there and I'm never the last one out there," Kahre said. "And I don't get ­adventurous."

For Piepho, there's wisdom in staying afraid of that sudden hair-raising sound echoing across the lake.

"When that ice cracks," Piepho said, "that's something you never get used to."

Emma Nelson • 952-746-3287