Frozen lake Michigan in winter: beautiful, extreme weather shows surreal imagery

The polar vortex that is winter in the Midwest has kept Lake Michigan frozen for the most part of the season. For example, in Chicago, Illinois, temperatures reached -30C (-23F) during the peak of the cold snap, causing ice shelves to form on the lake.  Even hills of ice formed from waves crashing over already existing ice piles. But, as with anything, it all must eventually come to an end. Spring is bringing warmer weather to the area, melting the ice and transforming the region into a magical winter wonderland. Moving water underneath the ice is pushing the sheets to the surface, shattering them into mesmerizing patterns you can view along South Haven’s pier.

Sometimes it’s almost impossible to believe what kinds of incredible things nature is capable of. In the summer, the shores of Lake Michigan are calm and peaceful but, in the winter months, it’s absolutely unrecognizable until the first warm rays of spring sunshine seep in.  Let’s hope, this wonderful beauty of extreme nature will give a new page of life to every living creature in the lake.

 

AP Images

As much as people desire to capture this beautiful phenomenon in an up close and personal way, but the US Coast Guard has warned that the ice should strictly be viewed from afar, as it is dangerous to stand or walk on the unstable ice. “No ice is safe ice especially this time of year,” US Coast Guard BMC Grant Heffner told MLive. “The ice is certainly deteriorating and breaking up.”

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