'Ice is always unpredictable': How to be safe around ice as the weather starts to change

The weather is slowly transitioning from winter to spring, which can lead to some thinning conditions on the province's frozen waterways.

With that change, it means Manitobans need to be extra careful while on the ice.

"Ice is always unpredictable, but this time of year it becomes especially unpredictable," said Christopher Love with Lifesaving Society Manitoba.

A third of all drownings happen in the winter months and Love said the most common activities that lead to people going through the ice are snowmobiling and walking and playing on the ice.

If people are still wanting to enjoy activities on the ice, Love suggests people go to places that are continuously monitored.

"The remaining portion of the Nestaweya River Trail, many municipalities around the province have skating ponds where they will be checking the ice, those are your safer places to go," said Love. "If you're going to make the choice to go somewhere else because maybe you are doing a finishing derby or something like that, then you have to take the responsibility to be concerned about, 'Okay, do I have the right safety gear? Am I checking the ice conditions, the ice thickness when I go out?'"

Love also said people should only go on the ice during the day and when the weather conditions are favourable, not when it's dark or foggy.

When venturing onto the ice, Love suggests people bring something like a whistle so they can be heard if they do fall through the ice. He also recommends wearing a floater coat or a life jacket, which would keep someone's head above water, and also carrying items like ice picks and throw bags to make it easier to get out of the water.