Until this slush is completely frozen, stay off the ice sheet. When the saturated snow becomes frozen, it is an added thickness of white ice. Contrary to what you would expect, a rapid, large air temperature drop makes an ice sheet brittle, and the ice may not be safe to use for 24 hours or more. If the air temperature stays above freezing for 24 hours or more, the ice starts losing strength, and the equation, figure, and table no longer represent safe conditions. You are likely to encounter cracks in the ice.
Cracks are either wet or dry.
If they are dry, they do not penetrate the ice sheet and are not a concern. If they are wet, multiply the load by 2, as shown on the graph, before you use the equation to obtain the required minimum ice thickness. If using an enclosed vehicle, always drive with the windows or a door open for quick escape. If you drive across wet cracks, your path should be as close to perpendicular to them as possible, instead of parallel to them. A load deflects the ice slightly into a bowl shape.