TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Much of Michigan got thawed out over the past few days with falling temperatures and rain. However, before that happened, the state was awash in cold temperatures, snow and ice over the Christmas holidays which resulted in works of art showing up all over social media and in the news. These works of art came in the form of ice sculptures, frozen sand and snowy scenery.
Michigan News Source already brought you the story of Tahquamenon Falls and introduced you to a new phrase that you might not have heard before – ice pancakes. This Upper Peninsula beauty is created by cold temperatures and turbulent waters and can form from one to 10 feet. They look like just what you would expect – pancakes – and these frozen circular discs are formed when frozen foam on the water’s surface get trapped in a spiraling circle known as an eddy.
MORE NEWS: Middle East Expert: Americans ‘Lulled’ Into False Sense of Security on Terrorism
The cold and churning waters below the Tahquamenon Falls was photographed and shared online by Michigan DNR park interpreter Theresa Neal who said, “I just thought it was cool.” In the case of the ice pancakes under the falls, the ice granules were formed and clumped together, hitting each other from the water’s movement, rounding out the edges.
Over in Grand Haven, photographer Brian Caswell of SpeedShot Photography captured the “Blizzard of 2022” and posted them to his Facebook page on Christmas Eve. The amazing photos are of the Grand Haven South Pier and lighthouses – all frozen solid.
He also posted a photo of himself braving the weather, “Here is a ‘behind the scenes’ photo my brother took of me Saturday, at Grand Haven. Very Extreme conditions and we had to keep our camera gear and faces out of the 45mph winds and super cold air as much as possible. Remember, you can’t get those shots sitting on the couch.”
Michigan has the most lighthouses of any other state in the country – 129 in all – so it’s not surprising to see so many of them photographed as ice sculptures last week.
Another frozen lighthouse that was photographed was in Saint Joseph, Michigan and was posted by CBS News. Their drone footage shows a frozen lighthouse and jetty that turned into “frozen ice sculptures.”
MORE NEWS: ‘Very Strange’ UM Lab Case Ends With Guilty Plea and Immediate Deportation
Not to be outdone by lighthouses and ice pancakes, the sand on Michigan beaches produced some spectacular art as well. A Twitter account called “Ollie and Dave” posted some beautiful photos of frozen sand and said, “Strong winds sculpt frozen sand into otherworldly pillars on a Lake Michigan beach.”
