Watch: Pancake ice floats on Lake Superior as temperatures plunge to zero
The video was shot by Cheryl Koval along the coast of the largest Great Lake as temperatures dropped to zero degrees Fahrenheit overnight.
Pancake ice float on Lake Superior as temperatures plunge to zero
Video shot in northern Wisconsin on Tuesday shows a weather phenomenon known as
ASHLAND, Wis. – Video shot in northern Wisconsin on Tuesday shows a weather phenomenon known as "pancake ice" floating on the surface of Lake Superior.
Pancake ice are small, disc-like areas of soft, slushy ice that float on the surface of freezing cold, rough waters.
Pancake ice on Lake Superior. Nov. 28, 2023.
(Cheryl Koval via Storyful / FOX Weather)
The video of pancake ice on Lake Superior was shot by Cheryl Koval as temperatures plunged to zero degrees Fahrenheit overnight.
PANCAKE ICE IN MICHIGAN: WHAT IS IT?
Pancake ice begins as a layer of ice crystals that form on the cold water, according to NASA. If the water is rough, its waves cause the layer of ice crystals to break up to form little ice floats, which then crash into each other.
Pancake ice on Lake Superior. Nov. 28, 2023.
(Cheryl Koval via Storyful / FOX Weather)
This crashing causes the floats to take on a round shape and to have ridges form along their edges, NASA said. As the rest of the float remains relatively smooth and flat, pancake ice is formed.
Pancake ice has previously been spotted on Lake Michigan, as seen in the video below.
Pancake ice on Lake Michigan
Pancake ice formed on the shore of Lake Michigan Sunday in St. Joseph, Michigan.
They can also form in rivers, as seen on the surface of the Missouri River in central Missouri in February 2021.
Pancake ice flowing on the surface of the Missouri River near Eagle Bluff Conservation Area on Feb. 13, 2021.
(Caroline Elliott / USGS / FOX Weather)
Pancake ice can also form out at sea. When enough pancake ice piles up, they may form rafts.
Pancake ice in the top picture can pile up to form rafts (lower picture).
(Don Perovich, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. / NASA)