City skating pond update

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - With the arctic air that we've had in place this week and temperatures below freezing, both during the day and night, it might be hard to believe that the ice on Fort Wayne's skating ponds isn't thick enough for skaters.  But, that's the reality.

We should remember that before the chill hit on Monday, we had high temperatures in the 40s and there was no ice on the city's ponds then.

Ice measurements Thursday showed only 3" of ice on the edges of the pond at Lakeside Park (with the ice thinning toward the center).  4" is the minimum thickness of ice needed to support skaters (and the snow clearing equipment that must clear the rink before skaters are allowed on it).

Ice on the city's other skating ponds at Reservoir Park, Franke Park and East Swinney Park also did not have enough ice to make skating safe.

As the winter season continues, the city will update the status of each skating pond on its website .  At the ponds themselves, look for a red light to be displayed and turned on, as well as a red flag flying, to let you know it is unsafe to skate on the ice.