Flipping out! Pancake ice forms on Chicago's Lake Michigan after sub-zero arctic blast hits the Midwest
- Ice pancakes or snow pancakes have formed along the shore of Lake Michigan in Chicago
- The lily pad-shaped ice sheets began appearing in secluded bay near North Avenue Beach in the Windy City
- Captivating photos and videos of the lake show hundreds of the rounded ice shapes next to each other
- Experts say they're formed when sections of ice collide, their edges become rounded and raised
- The Midwest and Northeast are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures with sub-zero arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills
The Windy City might be known for its deep dish pizza, but an usual and different kind of circular-shaped phenomenon is currently taking over Lake Michigan.
The so-called 'snow pancakes' or circular ice sheets have started appearing along the shore of Chicago's iconic lake.
The lily pad-shaped ice forms first began appearing this week in a secluded bay near North Avenue Beach in the popular city that's currently experiencing sub-zero temperatures thanks to an arctic cold blast.
Captivating photos and videos of the lake show hundreds of rounded ice shapes that resemble flat pancakes across the water.
Scroll down for video
The Windy City might be known for its deep dish pizza, but an usual and different kind of circular-shaped phenomenon is currently taking over Lake Michigan. 'Snow pancakes' or circular ice sheets have started appearing along the shore of Chicago's iconic lake
The lily pad-shaped ice forms first began appearing this week in a secluded bay near North Avenue Beach in the popular city that's currently experiencing sub-zero temperatures thanks to an arctic cold blast
Captivating photos and videos of the lake show hundreds of rounded ice shapes that resemble flat pancakes across the water. Experts say they're formed when sections of ice collide, their edges become rounded and raised
It doesn't look like the ice pancakes will disappear anytime soon as the frigid temperatures in Chicago are expected to last through the New Year and possibly longer
Experts say they're formed when sections of ice collide, their edges become rounded and raised.
The cool result of the contact is ice rounded into the shape of pancakes or lily pads.
They often meld together to form a sheet of ice pancakes, which is what appears to have happened in Chicago.
This feature is most common in the frigidly cold oceans around the world such as the Baltic Sea and Antarctica.
If the ice is thick enough, and the water is rough enough, the ice can fracture and bend to pile up on itself forming what are known as ice ridges, according to National Geographic.
The Midwest and Northeast are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures with sub-zero arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills
Other parts of the lake are also experiencing weird softball-sized ice shapes form in the water
The brutal cold front is currently clobbering several states with many of the temperatures only reaching a high in the 20s and lows in the single digits well below the freezing point. Above the icy shoreline at North Avenue Beach is pictured on Wednesday
It doesn't look like the ice pancakes will disappear anytime soon as the frigid temperatures in Chicago are expected to last through the New Year and possibly longer.
The high for Wednesday in the Windy City was 9 degrees Fahrenheit, and it will drop to a low of five degrees when the sun goes down at night.
The Midwest and Northeast are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures with sub-zero arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills.
The brutal cold front is currently clobbering several states with many of the temperatures only reaching a high in the 20s and lows in the single digits well below the freezing point.
Above people go for a run near North Avenue Beach in Chicago on Wednesday
Above a bicyclist navigates along the lakefront despite single-digit temperatures on Wednesday
Wind chill advisories or warnings are in effect for all of North Dakota and Wisconsin, as well as swaths of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois Michigan and Indiana. Above a man runs near North Avenue Beach on Wednesday
Wind chill advisories or warnings are in effect for all of North Dakota and Wisconsin, as well as swaths of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois Michigan and Indiana.
In addition, wind chill advisories are also in effect for parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.
For revelers hitting the town on New Year's Eve in Chicago, the temperature during the day will be a high of 17 degrees with a low of negative three when the clock strikes 12 ushering in 2018.
Most watched News videos
- Shocking video of Walmart brawl between four women in Louisiana
- Huge Great White Shark circles fishing boat off South Carolina
- SpaceX rocket launch causes multi-car pile-up
- Check please! Restaurant floods after massive aquarium cracks
- Flight attendant wows passengers with Christmas songs
- Women viciously fight 'over a Barbie' in El Paso Walmart
- Cold follows snow into northern US
- Shoppers run for safety as gunshots ring out inside packed mall
- Terrifying moment a stranded car is struck by a passing train
- Doctors warn Russian 'Popeye' his arms might have to be amputated
- Connecticut K-9 bloodhound found after a 36-hour search
- Adopted red fox called Swyper jumps for joy on car ride
- Sex misconduct shame of the Justice Department laid bare:...
- Cameroon frees US literature professor who was put in...
- Dramatic moment Good Samaritans rescued a driver who made...
- Shirtless teen goes snow-diving after record-breaking...
- Nice work if you can get it: Top White House salaries...
- Elon Musk's surprise SpaceX rocket launch causes...
- Congressional Intelligence panels grill Georgian-American...
- New York City subway work trains collide in East River...
- New York City reports lowest homicide rates in decades as...
- Wisconsin father spends $140,000 for his whole family to...
- Utah Republican senator thanks paper for naming him the...
- Wonder what he was doing there!: Trump visits his Palm...
- Hardly the Christmas spirit! Three women and a teen girl...
- How a police officer tried to blackmail his wife for...
- Russia may have access to fingerprints of millions of...
- For cod's sake! Vietnamese restaurant's aquarium bursts...
- Feuding women trade blows in vicious bust-up over a...
- Manhunt for convicted killer after a triple homicide...
Who would have thought Lake Michigan develops ice o...
by UsOcoms10 24