Comments on: Ice stacking on Lake Superior

Ice stacking on Lake Superior

tivalasvegas — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 05:49:53 -0800

I anticipated there would be some ice stacking as the massive sheets of ice met the rugged shorelines, so I headed to Brighton Beach.

By: protorp

protorp — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 05:53:02 -0800

That's beautiful... though my first reaction was "ah, yes, thinking about things, it wasn't very likely to be THAT Brighton Beach." (facepalm)

By: protorp

protorp — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 05:55:50 -0800

(aka the first time in ages I've remembered I have post titles disabled)

By: Malla

Malla — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:06:58 -0800

So great. I love Duluth.

By: Thorzdad

Thorzdad — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:11:58 -0800

That was so cool. The really neat thing is that, at first, my brain was trying to tell me that this was time-compressed video...everything was sped-up for effect. But, then you see the wisps of snow being blown around and, nope, not sped-up. Realtime. Amazing.

By: ezust

ezust — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:25:31 -0800

That was absolutely sublime. Thank you.

By: wenestvedt

wenestvedt — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:28:36 -0800

Lake Superior is a rare place for being able to go see The Elements doing their thing without mediation or limits. Storms, waves, ice caves...it leaves impressions that you can't shake for a long, long time.

By: roomthreeseventeen

roomthreeseventeen — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:30:49 -0800

That's so interesting. My spouse's family is from Superior, Wisconsin and Duluth. I can't wai to show him this and see if he remembers anything like it.

By: AlonzoMosleyFBI

AlonzoMosleyFBI — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:42:47 -0800

Fortress of Solitude (Under Construction).

By: GameDesignerBen

GameDesignerBen — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 06:58:22 -0800

I grew up in Duluth, and yeah, this is very Duluth.

By: carrioncomfort

carrioncomfort — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 07:16:24 -0800

I love ice breakups. The major river near me once threw up six or so inch thick chunks (by several feet wide & long) that lasted for nearly a month in the spring. These thin layers of ice sheets are amazing . . . and strangely make have me craving baklava . . .

By: pravit

pravit — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 07:32:28 -0800

Awesome. I saw a picture of a frozen fountain the other day. Is there any video of a running fountain freezing in real time?

By: maudlin

maudlin — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 07:51:54 -0800

I've never seen anything like this before. Just amazing. And I am especially grateful to the photographer for leaving in the natural sounds instead of layering some music on top.

By: maryr

maryr — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 07:54:53 -0800

This is how ice causes floods. Do you want floods? Because this is how you get floods.

By: mandolin conspiracy

mandolin conspiracy — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:19:24 -0800

Neat. This came up in related videos: Lake Superior ice balls

By: ezust

ezust — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:28:16 -0800

Those ice balls are weird. They're kind of awkward and lumpy and there's nothing graceful about them at all. On the other hand, they do look happy bouncing and bobbing and bumping into each other. Totally different vibe than the stacking. Stacking's where it's at for me.

By: nubs

nubs — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:29:58 -0800

My parents have a place near a lake in the mountains. I remember one year we were up there in the spring when the ice started breaking up. It was kind of like this, with some ice stacking at the shore, but what was really interesting was what was happening further out, where the ice that was starting to move in the current was grinding up against the more stationary ice sheets. The noise was amazing.

By: BlueHorse

BlueHorse — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:41:58 -0800

Nope. Too cold, thank you. Not sure which is stranger, sheets or bouncing balls. Different vibes, indeed. I wonder how thick those ice plates are? Nature is amazing, and I love to see these things, but youtube gets thumbs up for keeping me warm.

By: jim in austin

jim in austin — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:49:27 -0800

He puzzled, "What are these alien and disturbing phenomena on my screen?" sitting outside in his shorts and flip flops on a Texas winter's day.

By: Oyéah

Oyéah — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:50:29 -0800

I liked the brief blue sky reflected. Elegant, eloquent, nature.

By: mandolin conspiracy

mandolin conspiracy — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 08:56:00 -0800

Do you want floods? Because this is how you get floods. What about when the ice IS the flood?

By: jamjam

jamjam — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 09:03:31 -0800

Ice balls on shore leave.

By: eriko

eriko — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 09:29:10 -0800

That particular ice stacking happened because of a *very* quick and very cold snap, which was only able to freeze a very thin sheet on the water, because the winter's been generally warm this year around the lakes. Normally, you'd see the cloudy-white ice because of snowfall on the ice, but this ice froze up basically over one very clear, very cold day and night, then winds forced that sheet of ice onto the shore. The Great Lakes see this big ice-stacking because the surface area is so large. On Lake Michigan, it tends to be on the Michigan shore and minor, but if a really strong northerly wind hits, you can see very dramatic ice stacking and ice shelfs in Indiana.

By: sio42

sio42 — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 09:38:55 -0800

the ice flood is cray. i remember seeing it as an fpp here i think. someone was recording it (i almost said taping ha i'm old) as it encroached about a row of patios and was destroying their patio furniture. i think it busted thru some sliding glass doors as well.

By: humanfont

humanfont — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 11:11:59 -0800

/humanfont starts watching video (loop) [hours later] Not sure if ASMR or discovered mild form of the Entertainment.

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 11:24:57 -0800

Superior is the Radiohead of lakes: cold, intense, beautiful.

By: Bruce H.

Bruce H. — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 12:29:54 -0800

Previously.

By: traveler_

traveler_ — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 13:12:29 -0800

BlueHorse: I wonder how thick those ice plates are? When I lived in Duluth, the ones I saw were maybe 1"–3" thick as I remember. Never got to see them building up like this, only the aftermath. They make a wonderfully resonant tonk when you tap them.

By: Miss Otis' Egrets

Miss Otis' Egrets — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 13:34:06 -0800

The ice must floe

By: persona au gratin

persona au gratin — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 15:27:06 -0800

I've seen this before, but on much smaller lakes with much smaller pieces of ice. Very cool!

By: Twang

Twang — Sat, 20 Feb 2016 15:37:04 -0800

The breakup of lake ice (specially the stuff that's really thick) makes some of the *wildest, craziest* sounds ... roars, snaps, creaks, squeaks, bangs ... A great subject for someone with a microphone (windscreen recommended) and warm-enough clothes. I once lived near a shallow lake about a quarter-mile wide, so insulated from winds that many winters the surface froze clear as a windowpane. You could walk across it (safely if several inches thick) and look down to see swimming fish and other lakelife. Crazy sensation.

By: sammyo

sammyo — Sun, 21 Feb 2016 05:50:17 -0800

That was incredibly beautiful. Gave me chills!