Area lakes and rivers appear as if they are starting to get a thick layer of ice on them. This is deceiving. The freezing process of lakes and river is not constant, which means no one lake or river freezes the same. The way each water body freezes depends on its circulation of water, how fast it runs, if there is any natural springs in the lake, and how much snow is sitting on top of the water.
Snow hinders the freezing process because it acts like an insulator for the water, so it takes colder temperatures to get better ice. Also, as the water freezes with the mix of snow incorporated into it, the water then freezes in featherly snow/ice layers...not as strong as if it was just water and no snow.