On Tuesday morning, the Transport Administration declared severe weather conditions in seven Estonian counties due to freezing rain and ice, and urged people to avoid unnecessary travel.

Southern Estonian resident Maire had a doctor's appointment to get to on Tuesday. She had, however, long since bought a pair of ice cleats to wear on her winter boots in icy conditions.

Merit Uus, industrial goods categories manager for Prisma, said that the retail chain's statistics confirm that there are plenty more Maires out there – in the first six weeks of 2024 alone, Prisma has already sold nearly 4,000 pairs of ice cleats.

"When I looked at [the numbers] by the week, when the media reports on long wait times at the emergency room as people are falling, or when it comes up in a social group somewhere that roads are slippery and [ice removal] work hasn't been done, then that interest really goes up," Uus said. "Some are evidently bought just in case as well."

She noted that ice cleats have gotten increasingly popular by the year as well, highlighting that this January and February alone, their chain has already sold 50 percent more ice cleats than they had during the same period last year.

"Of course, the weather plays a role – knowing whether it's slippery or not – but that is still a significant increase," Uus acknowledged. "It seems like they're getting more popular, and I've actually seen for myself in town how it used to be moreso old people, but nowadays I see them [worn by] totally young teenagers."

Prisma currently carries three different Nordic brands' ice cleats. They also sell special covers for boots with built-in cleats that can be used when entering indoor spaces.

Uus noted that ice cleats should always be removed regardless indoors, both because the cleats actually pose a danger as they are slippery on floors and because they damage floors themselves as well.

"Ice cleats, which are of course invaluable tools on slippery streets right now, unfortunately, aren't recommended for use indoors," said Art Museum of Estonia marketing and services director Piret Järvan. "[Visitors] are indeed not allowed to wear them in the exhibition spaces at branches of the Art Museum of Estonia, as they would inevitably damage tombstones at Niguliste Church [inside St. Nicholas' Church] or the fine parquet flooring at Kadriorg Art Museum, in Kadriorg Palace."

Järvan noted that those who cannot remove their cleats for their visit are welcome to borrow special slippers made of more durable material that can be worn over their boots.

Tartu St. Mary's Church has requested on its website that visitors to the church either remove their ice cleats or bring a change of shoes altogether.

"Our new steeple at St. Mary's Church is complete, and the steeple is still so new that it hasn't even been consecrated yet, and that means we also have very new floors," said Silvia Leiaru, chair of the management board at the Tartu St. Mary's Church Foundation. "And we have parquet flooring in some areas, and that is fairly delicate in terms of such cleats."

Leiaru added that the church has a cloakroom with a bench where visitors can sit to remove their ice cleats and store them for their visit.

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