MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – With this weekend’s mini warm up, officials want to warn everyone to be careful on area lakes.

Freezing and thawing are making ice conditions unsafe.

Last weekend, seven vehicles broke through the ice on Lake Minnetonka.

So if you’re going out on the lakes, follow some basic safety guidelines — anyone on foot is recommended to use a life jacket.

And whether you’re walking, or driving a car, truck, or snowmobile, channels on any lake are dangerous and should be avoided.

That’s because pressure ridges give a false impression that the ice is stable when it’s not.

Darrell Huggett says no ice should ever be considered completely safe.

“And with this weekend coming after a hard freeze, that’s when people think the lakes are much safer and they feel more confident, but really it’s the freezing and thawing, that makes the ice unstable,” he said.