A thin ice advisory for rivers, streams and lakes in southern Manitoba has been issued until full freeze up.
The Hydrologic Forecast Centre of Manitoba Infrastructure advises that many water bodies in southern Manitoba are still in the process of freezing over, ice is still very thin and larger rivers still have open water in some areas. The centre cautions:
• snowmobilers, skiers and others are advised not to venture onto rivers and lakes if at all possible due to the danger of falling through;
• thin ice is often covered by snow, which produces weak spots due to its insulating effect;
• areas of fast-flowing water tend to have thin ice which may not be visible; and
• ice conditions on the Assiniboine and Red rivers may be dangerous now through mid-December.
Once full ice cover is achieved, levels of the Red River and other rivers in southern Manitoba are not expected to change much during the rest of this winter.
