Rising temperatures make lake ice unstable

Three teenage boys fell through what appeared to be ice in St. Louis Monday morning.

One of the boys was under water for nearly fifteen minutes before first responders arrived.

Columbia officials closed Stephens Lake Park last week due to unstable lake conditions.

On Monday, temperature were warm again and officials said it’s still not safe to be on the lake.

Today temperatures reached 59 degrees, Saturday the temperature was 60 degrees.

Officials said you can never be one hundred percent sure ice is frozen all the way through, and you should never rely solely on appearance of ice.

New ice, also known as blue ice, is usually stronger than slush ice or old ice.

Officials said if ice is less than 2 inches thick, the stability is limited and you should not venture on to the ice.

Ice that is 3 inches can withstand a single person on foot.