Those Are Some Big Balls! Check Out These Ice Balls In Lake Michigan (Video)
Being from Michigan I'm used to dealing with freezing cold temperatures.
When I moved to Grand Rapids from Howell I got to experience "Lake Effect Snow"
According to Wikipedia lake effect snow is produced during cooler atmospheric conditions when a cold air mass moves across long expanses of warmer lake water. The lower layer of air, heated up by the lake water, picks up water vapor from the lake and rises up through the colder air above. The vapor then freezes and is deposited on the leeward (downwind) shores.
But one thing I never heard of until today was something called "Ice Balls"
According to Atlas Obscura "Ice Balls" are ice boulders that form when cold chunks break from ice sheets, and the movements of a lake’s waves sculpt those pieces into rounder shapes. The balls can also accrue more layers of ice, growing large. On occasion, these rotund ice balls reach lake shores, where they form what can look like very cold ball pits.
This video of ice balls forming on the Lake Michigan shoreline at Esch Road Beach in Benzie County is getting lots of views online. Apparently I'm not the only person that has never heard of or seen ice balls before.
CHECK OUT THESE VIDEOS OF ICE BALLS AROUND LAKE MICHIGAN
These Ice Balls Are From Last January at Holland State Park
These Ice Balls formed along Lake Michigan near Glen Arbor
These ice balls formed in Lake Michigan at Idlewood Beach
I need to bundle up and take a trip out to the lakeshore to see if I can see any ice balls in person.