New Brunswick RCMP are asking snowmobilers and those operating off-road vehicles to use extreme caution when driving over bodies of water after three people had to be rescued from a northern New Brunswick river.

The unpredictable temperatures across the province and the rest of the Maritimes have resulted in snowmobilers Bill and Joanne Reynolds to stay off the ice entirely.

“We've had ups and downs,” said Bill Reynolds. “It was 13 degrees last week, we're just not on the ice."

The warnings have spread to other Maritime regions, as well. In Halifax, the city has tested over 80 lakes and ponds throughout the region, finding lots of thin ice.

"Even though you may have gone out on the ice a few days ago or a week ago, we would certainly advise caution,” said Tiffany Chase, spokesperson for the Halifax Regional Municipality. “If it looks like it's frozen in one area, there still could be open water nearby."

Chase says to look for the colour of the ice. The bluer the ice, the thicker it is. It should be at least 15 centimetres thick if it's just one person on the ice and 20 cm if it's several people.

The Canadian Red Cross says grey ice is the most unsafe, and ice should be over 25 cm thick for snowmobilers to travel over.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.