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BAZETTA -- Police are urging people to stay off the ice at Mosquito Creek Lake, as it is "extremely dangerous at this point."
"Please be aware that there is no such thing as safe ice," the department wrote on social media.
Most experts, including the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, recommend staying off frozen waterways until ice is a minimum of 4 inches thick. Thicker ice is recommended for snowmobiles and other vehicles.
While temperatures last week dropped into the negatives, bringing a freeze with winter's first major storm, the National Weather Service forecasts temperatures rising to the low 50s by Friday. Water stays frozen only below 32 degrees.
Bazetta police remind those who plan on going onto the ice at any point this winter to carry a life jacket, 50 to 100 feet of rope, a cell phone and ice picks in case of emergency. Never go onto the ice alone and always let someone know your location.
Cold water drains heat from the body up to four times faster than cold air, according to the National Weather Service. Water temperatures below 50 degrees can be dangerous if "cold shock" causes dramatic changes to breathing, heart rate and blood pressure.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers listed Mosquito Lake's water temperature as 33 degrees on Monday.
Hypothermia, which can be deadly, sets in if a person's core body temperature drops below 95 degrees.
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