Could the snow actually help with ice out?

[MikeG3Boat]

Is there any chance that this new snow could actually help with ice out? Just thinking all the weight pushing the ice down into the warmer water underneath.

Any ideas? Trying to stay positive after this large snowfall........

[Ufatz]

Science not your major eh Mike? LOL

[leechlake]

I'm 100% not scientist material so I'll bite. Could the weight of the snow push the ice down into the water and make it melt faster OR will the insulating effect of the snow keep the ice around longer not letting the sun melt the ice. I'd guess the latter is the answer. Oh well, we have 8-10 inches at my house and I'd wager by Saturday it's gone.

Golfed Monday and Tuesday afternoon and watched it snow and snow yesterday. Nice place we all live.

[CANOPY SAM]

With the average temps you folks have down south it won't make much of any difference at all. Like Leech says above, within a few days it will all be gone, and the sun and warmth will go back to work on what is remaining of your ice.

Now had we gotten all that snow up here, on top of our ice, which really hasn't melted at all yet, it would almost certainly insulate the ice for a while, and prevent further melting.

[CAMAN]

The only aid this snow is going give in getting rid of the ice is while it's melting the water running off the edges, through cracks, and down holes is going to help erode the edges, but in the middle where it is still 3 feet of solid ice it won't much matter.

[RuKiddingMe]

The only aid this snow is going give in getting rid of the ice is while it's melting the water running off the edges, through cracks, and down holes is going to help erode the edges, but in the middle where it is still 3 feet of solid ice it won't much matter.

That's kind of that I was thinking, running water destroys ice pretty fast.

[Boxcar Wllie]

Erode the edges to get the main sheets floating free. Let the wind and rain take care of the rest.

[SkunkedAgain]

Is there any chance that this new snow could actually help with ice out?

Only if by "help" you mean "delay" ice out, then yes

[timjones]

Hard one to answer for sure. The vast majority of lake ice melting occurs from the bottom up in the spring. You'll have some surface melting but not a lot, unless it's raining. When there is no snow on the ice as in late spring the sun is high enough in the sky that it can penetrate the ice and warm the water under it. Kind of the same principle as you standing on the other side of a window from the sun. Much warmer than the outside air. This warmer water causes the bottom of the ice to melt. Plus you have heat being released from the bottom sediment. Normally the melting will slow some at night because some of this heat is released into the atmosphere through the ice, same as a window pane at night. This is where the snow cover may help melt the ice. With the insulating snow, that heat lose at night may not happen and continue to melt even if it's below freezing at night.

[knoppers]

I have a 15 acre pond out back, there was about 50-75 percent ice on it just before the snow hit, after the snow, the ice was gone completely. I have to think that the weight of the snow sunk the ice, and the warmer water finished it off.