The hidden dangers of shelf ice

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (WNDU) - It might be a spectacle, but experts say it’s nothing to mess with.

You’ve likely noticed shelf ice growing on the shores of Lake Michigan in recent weeks. It forms as the temperatures drop and a layer of ice builds on the lake’s surface and edges.

Shelf ice can be pretty, but exploring it could cost you your life.

“When people are walking on them or they might think it’s some type of mountain, it could be a hollow mountain with a very thin top on it. It could go crashing down into the lake,” warns Michigan City Assistant Chief of Police Steven Forker.

Here’s what happens. Curious people try to climb up onto these shelf ice mountains, and stepping onto unstable ice could lead to you falling down into a hole with moving lake water beneath it.

And in these temperatures, hypothermia sets in quicker than rescue efforts can get to you.

“There’s no rescue efforts that could save someone quick enough in these types of temperatures and the types of dangers that that ice brings,” Asst. Chief Forker says.

Across the state line in Michigan, fire departments have been warning the community to stay off this ice for days now.

“If you fall into the lake, the water is still moving. So, if you fall in, you can very easily get washed under the ice shelves and not be able to come up under the initial hole you fell through,” says Saugatuck Township Fire Deputy Chief Chris Mantels.

But if you’re looking to do some ice fishing, or play pond hockey, there are safe ways to do it.

“You always want to be measuring the thickness of the ice in the inland lake or river,” Deputy Chief Mantels says. “Generally, four inches is considered the minimum for an adult to be out on the ice. But the thicker, the safer.”

Deputy Chief Mantels also suggests making sure to let people know where you’re going and have your location before heading out onto the ice.

And of course, if you see someone or an animal fall through the ice, don’t go in after them. Call 911 instead.

Copyright 2025 WNDU. All rights reserved.