As ice continues to build on Pittsburgh’s three rivers, people are taking the risk of walking across the ice despite warnings from public safety officials and scientists.

Around 6 p.m. on Saturday, a few individuals could be seen walking from the North Shore to Point State Park. Others took pictures with a navigation buoy. In both cases, officers and park rangers encouraged people to come to shore. The situation kept repeating like a game of icy Whac-A-Mole.

Around the same time, on the river by the Mr. Rogers statue, Jermaine and Ashton, two men in their early 20s who didn’t want to give their last names, sprinted across the ice, dropping on their stomachs to continue sliding.

“It’s an adrenaline rush,” one of them said. “We’re having fun.”

Also on the ice was a family, including two young children.

“We’re having a great time seeing the frozen river,” the father said. “If there was nobody here, I wouldn’t have dared to come this far, even.”

Despite acknowledging she was scared, the mother said they did it anyway.

While not necessarily illegal, National Weather Service Pittsburgh meteorologist Jason Frazier said walking on the ice amounts to taking a dangerous risk.

“It’s definitely something we discourage,” Frazier said. “What people don’t maybe realize is that while the ice appears like it’s nice and solid, maybe thick, the thickness can actually be very different in a lot of different places of the river.

Ice thickness ranged from six inches to one inch to spots without ice, Frazier said. Unlike a lake, he said, rivers have a moving current underneath, which leads to varying thicknesses.

“If you actually do find a crack that’s maybe because of snow cover, you could fall in and be transported away from the spot you fall in,” Frazier said.

Both groups KDKA-TV spoke with had the same line of thinking about why they were safe, saying they stayed close to the shore where the water was shallow. That was more the case for the family than it was for the two young men.

“We can still say that there are dangers even on those shoreline areas,” Frazier said.

Both are due to friction on the shorelines that disrupts ice formation and snow covering cracks in the ice, and if you fall in, even there, consider the water temperature is at or below freezing.

First responders are also at risk when people go on ice because they could get called in for a rescue, Frazier said.

Around 9:30 Saturday night, yet another person was walking in the middle of the Allegheny, roughly from the Fort Duquesne to the Clemente bridges.

HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – The Connecticut Science Center is temporarily closed for a burst pipe in the building.

As a result, the Science Center posted on Facebook saying they will be closed on Sunday, February 1.

“Our team has been working tirelessly to clean and restore the affected areas, but unfortunately, we will not be ready to reopen on Sunday,” they wrote.

The Science Center told anyone who pre-purchased tickets to use them on a future date or contact the office on Monday for a refund.

“We look forward to welcoming you back very soon,” said the Connecticut Science Center.

Copyright 2026 WFSB. All rights reserved.

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) – Saturday saw the first round of Maine’s skijor circuit, kicking off in Bangor and featuring 44 professional and novice teams.

This marks the Queen City’s second year hosting one of Maine’s three races. It was brought in by Skijor Bangor organizer Jodi MacGregor.

“When Skowhegan started it, I was there at the very first one and fell in love with it. I think 10-ish years ago, and they have just built on it,” recounts MacGregor. “Topsham picked it up five or six years ago, and then I came on board to make it a circuit so we could do a Triple Crown.”

Skijoring, or having a reindeer or horse pull you on skis, originally came out of Central Asia thousands of years ago. Derived from the Norwegian word snörekjöring, the practice was first used as a mode of transportation.

Nowadays, it has transformed into a highly competitive equestrian sport.

“With the horse and rider pulling a skier, it’s an 1,000 foot track,” MacGregor describes. “Pros have to navigate gates and jumps and grab rings around the down the track and go over rollers at the end.”

Horseback rider Brighton Sawyer summarizes the sport as “where the horsepower meets the hang time!”

For participants saddled up or strapped in skis, the experience can be described as “pure adrenaline.”

“It’s really kind of cool because it does bring two communities together, right?” comments skier Matt Lush. “So, you got the horse community, you got the skiing community.”

Orono resident Zoe Maltese says this is her first year skijoring.

“I’ve been skiing and riding horses my whole life. It’s like the perfect sport for me, you know?” Maltese explains. “It’s both of them, both the things I love and it’s just super cool.”

On frigid days like Saturday, skijoring brings the community together, giving people a reason to celebrate the season.

Despite the low temperatures, Saturday’s skijor competition saw a high attendance.

“Because it’s something different,” MacGregor cites for the excitement. “And in the middle of the winter, I think at this point, people want to get outside and get some fresh air and get off the couch, so, and it’s exciting to watch!”

Whether it be cheering on successful ring grabs and jumps or supporting skiers who fall, Lush says it’s the high energy horsepower that rev crowds up.

“Mainers are hardy people. They want to get out and they want to have fun,” comments Lush. “They want to see something kind of crazy, and that’s what we’re giving them!”

MacGregor adds that the creation of the circuit not only brings the sport of skijor to more places, but it also elongates the season for competitors.

The skijor spree is just getting started in Maine!

Next week, the circuit moves to Topsham.

The week after will see the Triple Crown, hosted at Skowhegan Fairgrounds.

Copyright 2026 WABI. All rights reserved.