At this point in the year, the ice is not strong enough to be on. Falling through the ice and drowning is a very real possibility.
Before going on the ice there needs to have been a long steady freeze, which means no fluctuating temperatures, snow or flowing water under the ice.
In an area without moving water, you will have to wait at least 5 or 6 days with the consistent freezing weather before its safe.
Christopher Love, the Water Smart Coordinator for the Life Saving Society Manitoba Branch, says 70 percent of drownings occur between April and September.
Between 2009 and 2015 only 3 percent of all drowning deaths took place in the Dauphin area, which is a total of 5 people.
