How long does it take for a frozen lake to melt?

Warm temperatures can do as much to internally melt ice as the sunlight, if only over a longer period of time. Thick ice weakens slowly, but it also recovers slowly. While two inches of ice might last only two hours in moderate thaw conditions, a foot or more of ice can last several days.



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Moderate wind and warm weather: A day of moderate temperatures with some wind (15-25 mph) can do a lot of melting. Surface melting of a couple inches a day or more may occur. Puddle holes might form. Thin ice melts completely in pressure ridges and over gas holes.

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This general gauge gives safe ice thicknesses to support different types of activities: Less than 4 inches: Stay off the ice. 4 inches: Walking, ice fishing, ice skating, or other activities on foot are permitted. 5 to 7 inches: Snowmobiling or riding ATVs are safe.

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Great Lakes that have completely frozen include Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario. Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake to have never frozen entirely.

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In water that is around the freezing point, a person is likely to survive only 15 to 45 minutes with flotation and possibly up to an hour or so with flotation and protective gear before the brain and heart stop (Table 1). The surface temperature of Lake Superior in early to mid-summer is about 40 to 50 F.

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Melting of lake ice usually occurs first near the shorelines or near the mouths of streams. At these points of contact with inflowing warm water, the ice melts faster than it does at central lake locations, where most melting is caused by the transfer of heat from the atmosphere.

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That doesn't mean, however, when the air temp reaches 32 the lakes freeze. Water is a great insulator and good at holding heat, which is why the lake temperature doesn't fluctuate much day to day like the air does. Therefore, below freezing temperatures are needed for a week or more to form ice on a large lake.

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Less than 4 inches: Stay off the ice. 4 inches: Walking, ice fishing, ice skating, or other activities on foot are permitted. 5 to 7 inches: Snowmobiling or riding ATVs are safe. 8 to 12 inches: Driving a car or small pickup is allowed.

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