PANCAKE ICE
Pancake Ice occurs when winds pick up and waves increase, breaking the ice sheets into pieces. The wave action chips and forms the ice into circles like pancakes. The circular formations dot the lake, creating a patchwork of pancakes.
ICE BALLS
Ice balls form in a similar manner to pancake ice, but these are found on the shoreline. Chunks of ice break off ice sheets and the waves roll them along the shore over and over, smoothing them into spheres. These spheres can range in size of marbles to large boulders.
ICE VOLCANOES
It s not lava shooting out of these volcanoes, but water. These ice volcanoes start small but can grow quickly. As water is pushed under the ice sheet, pressure builds and water shoots out through holes in the ice. That water spray freezes forming cones. The cones grow and can reach as high as 25 feet.
It s so cold, rare Pancake Ice is forming
Often times found in the Arctic, pancake ice is now forming in parts of the Quad Cities due to an extended period of bitterly cold temperatures. Author: Andrew Stutzke Updated: 2:45 PM CST February 8, 2021
GENESEO, Ill. When temperatures plummet below the zero-degree mark for several days on end, you ll begin to see some rare and unique things take place out in nature. One of those sights is taking shape in the Hennepin Canal just to the north of Geneseo, Illinois.
The phenomenon is called pancake ice, and it looks just like that. With several days of temperatures well below freezing, and in many instances, below the zero degree mark, bodies of water are starting to form these rare and unique looking shapes made up of ice.