Ice road across Lake Pielinen opens - several weeks late

Ice conditions across entire country are very weak

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As a result of the mild and damp winter, thin ice has delayed the opening of ice roads across lakes in most parts of Finland except for Lapland.
      On Thursday, the Finnish Road Administration (Finnra) could eventually open the ice road across Lake Pielinen from Koli to Lieksa in Eastern Finland, when the thickness of ice reached the minimum of 40 cm.
      Since 1980, the Koli ice road has been Finland’s longest public ice road. The 7-km route shortens the distance from Lieksa’s Vuonislahti to Koli from 92 km to 41 km.
     
For example in two other traditional ice-road venues - Kuopio’s Kallavesi Lake and between Oulu and the island of Hailuoto the thickness of ice is quite insufficient.
      While Finnra normally opens at least four official ice roads every winter, now there is now only one across Kemijärvi Lake at Räisälä and another across the Kemijoki River in Rovaniemi’s Oikarainen, in addition to the Koli ice road.
      Moreover, Finnra has set certain weight limits for vehicles on the ice roads in Lapland. In Räisälä the weight limit is 4.5 tons, while in Rovaniemi it is 7 tons.
     
According to the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), the ice thickness in the lakes of Central Finland was 15 to 20 cm below the average for the season at the end of January.
      SYKE will obtain new readings next weekend. In any case, the ice conditions of the current winter are very weak in the entire country excluding Lapland, reports hydrologist Johanna Korhonen.
      As a consequence of the weak ice situation, the number of drownings for the current year is so far already 15, among them one Russian tourist in Sotkamo in Eastern Finland.
      Most of the drowned persons were middle-aged men who had gone fishing on the ice on familiar lakes.
      In comparison, the number of drownings as a result of thin ice in January 2007 was just three, while three other drowning cases occurred at the same time.
     
The minimum thickness of fast ice is 5 cm for a person walking alone, while a snowmobile requires an ice thickness of at least 15 cm along the entire route. This last point can be the downfall of snowmobile riders, who hit patches of thin ice owing to lake or river currents, often with fatal consequences.
      Moreover, the minimum thickness for a passenger car is about 20 cm of fast ice. On official ice roads the minimum ice thickness has to be 40 cm.
      Advice on how to save oneself or another person who is in trouble on ice can be found on the web site of the Finnish Association for Swimming Instruction and Life Saving (SUH).


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Storm cuts power lines and fells trees in southern coastal areas (21.1.2008)

Links:
  Finnish Road Administration
  Finnish Environment Institute
  The Finnish Association for Swimming Instruction and Life Saving (SUH)

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