Rare ice volcanoes captured erupting on Lake Michigan beach but may not stick around
Bisma Parvez, Detroit Free Press
Monday, Feb. 17, 2020
The recent cold front has brought an interesting phenomenon to Lake Michigan: first ice balls, now ice volcanoes.
National Weather Service meteorologist Ernie Ostuno was able to capture some amazing photos of erupting ice volcanoes at Oval Beach in Saugatuck Sunday.
An ice volcano is a cone-shaped mound of ice formed over a terrestrial lake by the eruption of water and slush through an ice shelf.
"Ice volcanoes occur in locations in which waves hit accumulated ice on the shoreline with some force," said Cort Spholten, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service of Grand Rapids.
© National Weather Service Grand Rapids 'Ice volanoes' erupt on Lake Michigan on Sunday Feb. 16
"We were cold enough to form ice on the shore of Lake Michigan and water had broken the surface of that ice," Spholten said. "The waves ... were strong enough so the water channels through, it squeezes water upwards and tosses the floating ice up. As it happens, over the course of hours or days, it forms a cone and it resembles a volcano."
"We were cold enough to form ice on the shore of Lake Michigan and water had broken the surface of that ice," Spholten said. "The waves ... were strong enough so the water channels through, it squeezes water upwards and tosses the floating ice up. As it happens, over the course of hours or days, it forms a cone and it resembles a volcano."
© National Weather Service Grand Rapids 'Ice volcanoes' erupt on Lake Michigan
According to Spholten, there have to be very specific conditions for the ice volcanoes to form.
"It needs to stay cold enough to keep the ice around and waves need to be large enough to force water upwards against the ice shelf," he said.
How long will it last?
"Today, winds from the southeast should diminish the waves. It's unlikely ice volcanoes will be seen today compared to yesterday, but it's not impossible," Spholten said.
However, ice volcanoes can also be dangerous especially when people climb on them. There may be no way to get out of the icy water if someone slips down the side of one of the mounds.
According to Spholten, there have to be very specific conditions for the ice volcanoes to form.
"It needs to stay cold enough to keep the ice around and waves need to be large enough to force water upwards against the ice shelf," he said.
How long will it last?
"Today, winds from the southeast should diminish the waves. It's unlikely ice volcanoes will be seen today compared to yesterday, but it's not impossible," Spholten said.
However, ice volcanoes can also be dangerous especially when people climb on them. There may be no way to get out of the icy water if someone slips down the side of one of the mounds.
© Sean Mulligan, Michigan DNR Ice balls, a rare phenomenon on Lake Michigan, rolled up on the beaches Friday at Holland State Park.
The ice volcanoes formed after another rare phenomenon on Lake Michigan.
On Friday, thousands of ice balls rolled up onto the lake shore. According to experts the weather conditions have to be just right: The temperatures are just below freezing along shallow beaches. Slush collects into round shapes and the waves sculpt ice chunks into orbs.
Thousands of rare ice balls appear on Lake Michigan beach, some as big as yoga balls
Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, USA TODAY•February 14, 2020
The ice volcanoes formed after another rare phenomenon on Lake Michigan.
On Friday, thousands of ice balls rolled up onto the lake shore. According to experts the weather conditions have to be just right: The temperatures are just below freezing along shallow beaches. Slush collects into round shapes and the waves sculpt ice chunks into orbs.
Thousands of rare ice balls appear on Lake Michigan beach, some as big as yoga balls
Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, USA TODAY•February 14, 2020
Ice balls, a rare phenomenon on Lake Michigan, rolled up on the beaches Friday at Holland State Park.
DETROIT – A rare phenomenon on a Lake Michigan beach caught the eye of a Michigan state park supervisor Friday morning, who snapped cell phone photos and posted them to the Holland State Park's Facebook page.
"We went down to the beach to check on things and we saw these large ice balls," said Sean Mulligan, a Department of Natural Resources supervisor at the park. "I had heard of them before, but I hadn't ever seen them."
Thousands of the balls, he estimated, rolled up onto the lakeshore.
Some were the size of baseballs and softballs; others were the size of bowling balls and dodge balls, and the biggest ones, just a few, looked to be the size of yoga balls, the kind some people use to work out with and do Pilates.
Watch: Rare, egg-shaped balls of ice wash ashore in Finland
The balls, experts say, form on beaches when weather conditions are just right: The temperatures are just below freezing along shallow beaches. Slush collects into round shapes and the waves sculpt ice chunks into orbs.
Ice balls are occasionally spotted on the Great Lakes, as well as on beaches in Germany, Russia and Scandinavia. Last year, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported an amateur photographer took photos of ice balls on an island in the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden.
"I don't know how long they'll last for," Mulligan said, "But, they were definitely down there this morning in force."
DETROIT – A rare phenomenon on a Lake Michigan beach caught the eye of a Michigan state park supervisor Friday morning, who snapped cell phone photos and posted them to the Holland State Park's Facebook page.
"We went down to the beach to check on things and we saw these large ice balls," said Sean Mulligan, a Department of Natural Resources supervisor at the park. "I had heard of them before, but I hadn't ever seen them."
Thousands of the balls, he estimated, rolled up onto the lakeshore.
Some were the size of baseballs and softballs; others were the size of bowling balls and dodge balls, and the biggest ones, just a few, looked to be the size of yoga balls, the kind some people use to work out with and do Pilates.
Watch: Rare, egg-shaped balls of ice wash ashore in Finland
The balls, experts say, form on beaches when weather conditions are just right: The temperatures are just below freezing along shallow beaches. Slush collects into round shapes and the waves sculpt ice chunks into orbs.
Ice balls are occasionally spotted on the Great Lakes, as well as on beaches in Germany, Russia and Scandinavia. Last year, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported an amateur photographer took photos of ice balls on an island in the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden.
"I don't know how long they'll last for," Mulligan said, "But, they were definitely down there this morning in force."
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