Science

Strong Gale Force Winds Turn Houses Along Lake Erie Into Ice Sculptures

Published

5 years ago

March 9, 2020

Jack William

Last weekend – Instead of winter residents living along the shore of Lake Erie in New York woke up and surprised when they found their homes completely encased in thick ice. Thanks to the gale-force winds and frigid temperatures, 15-foot waves formed on the lake, and a layer of ice as thick as 4 inches covered houses and turned into amazing ice castles and sculptures. But that is a nightmare for the residents of lake

(CNN), Ed Mis, who lives on South Shore Drive in the Hoover Beach neighborhood of Hamburg, about 8 miles south of Buffalo said that there was no ice in his yard or home on Thursday but by Friday morning his home and neighboring houses were completely covered about 12 feet of ice. Mis told CNN, “It looks fake, it looks unreal.” Adding, “It’s dark on the inside of my house. It can be a little eerie, a little frightening.”

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Homes covered by 12 feet of ice

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However, the sight is surreal and wonderful look like the ice castles on “Frozen” movies, but residents are worried it could cause structural damage to their homes. “We’re worried about the integrity, of structure failure when it starts to melt, because of the weight on the roof,” Mis said.

Beginning on February 27th and continuing for 48 hours, winds gusted over Lake Erie at speeds up to 60 mph (97 km/h). Around this time of year, ice cover is usually abundant on Lake Erie’s surface. That typically prevents the shoreline from being soaked with cold water during powerful storms; however, Lake Erie’s eastern end is nearly ice-free this year, leaving the shore vulnerable to spray from storm-whipped waves. [source]

And while the neighborhood has seen ice coatings before, he said this is the first time it’s been this bad. “The ice kept amassing as waves crashed onshore and the strong winds carried excess water further inland,” said the meteorologist.

Mis said the ice has begun to melt a bit since Friday, and he hopes the governor will approve an emergency declaration to help the neighborhood recover.