Some unique ice formations can be seen on cold days across the Great Lakes, but why don't you see them many other places? AccuWeather's Bree Guy explains.
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00:00Well, are you thinking of an ice pancake for breakfast?
00:05How about an ice donut?
00:07Well, these kinds of treats aren't really the edible kind, but they do make for a spectacular
00:13scene.
00:14Last week, the rare icy phenomenon was spotted along the shores of Lake Michigan.
00:19This time of year is notoriously known for its bitter winter chill across the Great Lakes
00:25And recently, this area hasn't had too much trouble living up to that fact.
00:31Hence why we are seeing ice build up along the lakes.
00:34Now, it's not always a solid sheet of ice that you're looking at.
00:38Let's start with ice pancakes, and for that, you need waves.
00:42Winds need to turn up the water enough to prevent a sheet of ice instead of a solid
00:47piece of ice forming.
00:48You get these little circular pancake ice shapes that bump into each other.
00:52Among many reasons, it would be hard to eat these as they break apart easily when lifted.
00:58Now we'll go to ice donuts.
01:00They do form similar to a pancake ice.
01:03Donut ice does need wave action.
01:06However, what makes them different is that when these ice pieces collide, water is splashed
01:12along the edges.
01:13This water then refreezes and over time builds up to look like an outer ring of a donut.
01:19Though these aren't very stable either.
01:22Now these aren't the only ice oddities that you can form.
01:25You may even spot ice bites or ice balls along the lakes.
01:29If you encounter any of these funky winter spectacles, we would love to see them here
01:35at AccuWeather.
01:36And of course, you can always send them over to any of our social media channels.
01:40That's accuweather.com right there on the dot com on the internet, the AccuWeather app,
01:45and all of our social media channels.