I realize that my fears are probably completely ridiculous, but I live right on the banks of a river and my city curates walking, skating, and cross-country ski trails on it. I assume that they're measuring, and I frequently see lightweight vehicles driving down the skating trail (which is in the center and almost certainly where the ice would be thinnest) to clear off the snow, so I know that the ice is thick enough to support the weight of that vehicle. Even so, sometimes when I'm walking or skating, the ice will make cracking sounds that I find extremely alarming. It's been VERY cold here lately (like, -30 Celsius and lower), so I also know intellectually that it's almost certainly too cold for the ice to be in any danger of melting, yet the cracking sounds scare me. Is there anything you could tell me to reassure me that this is normal or something? The river itself is shallow, especially in winter (maybe 20' at the deepest, more like 8' at the shallowest), and there are places where you can see that the ice is at least a foot thick. All the same, I nearly have a heart attack every time I walk over a spot and it starts making those cracking sounds. Reassure me??
I realize that my fears are probably completely ridiculous, but I live right on the banks of a river and my city curates walking, skating, and cross-country ski trails on it. I assume that they're measuring, and I frequently see lightweight vehicles driving down the skating trail (which is in the center and almost certainly where the ice would be thinnest) to clear off the snow, so I know that the ice is thick enough to support the weight of that vehicle. Even so, sometimes when I'm walking or skating, the ice will make cracking sounds that I find extremely alarming. It's been VERY cold here lately (like, -30 Celsius and lower), so I also know intellectually that it's almost certainly too cold for the ice to be in any danger of melting, yet the cracking sounds scare me. Is there anything you could tell me to reassure me that this is normal or something? The river itself is shallow, especially in winter (maybe 20' at the deepest, more like 8' at the shallowest), and there are places where you can see that the ice is at least a foot thick. All the same, I nearly have a heart attack every time I walk over a spot and it starts making those cracking sounds. Reassure me??