Thick layers of ice on the lawn during winter is nothing to worry about, but understanding how it affects the lawn can help you out in the spring.
How Ice affects your lawn:
Any damage to your lawn depends on how much ice, length of exposure and hardiness of your turf. Luckily turf die off begins 30-120 days of exposure, depending on the grass type. Kentucky blue grass being the best over perennial rye and fine fescue.
How layers of ice can kill your grass:
There are different means by which your grass could be damaged by ice. There could be a build up of carbon dioxide gas trapped under the ice, causing crown hydration. Cellular rupture could occur from the freeze-thaw cycles. Lastly, a lawn that is less hardy can be more prone to being damaged by ice or other stress.
What to look for:
Typically the damage will be localized in the low-lying spots and shaded areas, where the ice was left on the longest.
What do do:
If you do notice heavy ice covering your lawn, pay attention and look for damage come spring. The fix is easy. Simply rough up the area; apply soil, seed and top dressing, making sure to keep the seed moist. Then you’ll be on your way to having a healthy lush lawn.
You may also want to fix these trouble spots by leveling them with sand or a sand+soil mixture in order to prevent future issues, on top of ice build up including moss in the summer time.