Re: Stupid question
It's not a stupid question. Better to have asked then to have died and not asked!
If it was sketchy then it'll likely be sketchy now. 2+ ft of heavy, dense snow on top of sketchy ice equates to a substantial amount of weight applied to the surface of the ice. Quality, uniform black ice at 4" will theoretically hold around 700-800 lbs of load. 2" roughly 200 lbs (you wouldnt catch me on 2" ever--I have kids to take care of!). Consider the pressure the snow is putting on the ice on top of the lake's surface, too. Punch a hole to alleviate pressure and what happens? Pressure gets released i.e. water will be pushing up your hole.
Snow also insulates whatever black ice is below. While it may not melt as a direct result of said snow insulation, it'll inhibit the ice from growing. Furthermore, melt-off from the snow is obviously warmer than the ice underneath so it will deteriorate.
The ideal scenario is a bit of melt off yesterday, today and tomorrow followed by significant temp drops to freeze it all back together where you end up with a few inches of black ice followed by inches of gray ice and 'snow' ice.
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