I'm from northern Minnesota, not too far from Canada, and whenever I go home for Christmas, the temperature hits negative thirty degrees below (Fahrenheit). So, normally, whenever I hear people on the East Coast or West Coast complain that it's too cold, I roll my eyes. Especially in Los Angeles. (Come on, guys. Sixty degrees isn't cold.)
However, since New Year's Eve, the East Coast has been struck with horribly cold weather, and even Minnesotans can't roll their eyes anymore. So much for a happy 2018! This is one of the coldest snaps the country has ever seen, and the effects are unbelievable. Niagara Falls looks stunning frozen, but the blizzards have wreaked havoc on the roads. Outside Buffalo, New York, one Twitter user recorded a video of a one hundred car pile-up.
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In Baltimore, one man described the road conditions as "drivable but tricky." In the photos, vehicles are "caked in ice," like they were attacked by Elsa from Frozen. (How much would it suck to scrape this off?)
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The winter storms are also taking their toll on nature. People have shared photos of waves freezing in mid-place.
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And if you think that's striking, look what happens when the Great Lakes freeze: The water turns into unusual formations called "ice balls." That's when ice sheets break apart, and the waves sculpt the chunks into rounder shapes. As one Twitter user described them, they are "superweird and beautiful." It kind of looks like a bunch of Twitter eggs.
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Unfortunately, it's not all glistening beauty. Some animals are just as unprepared for the inclement weather as humans. In Massachusetts, frozen thresher sharks have washed up on shore, too cold for scientists to even dissect. And in Wyoming, several elk fell through the ice, with no hope of escape until some volunteers banded together. (Thankfully, the crew saved all thirteen of them.)
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According to The Weather Channel, half the country woke up to sub-zero temperatures. You know it's getting crazy when Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida are reporting colder weather than Alaska. (And I didn't think Florida could get any crazier.)
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But believe it or not, it's about to get worse. A monster of a winter storm called a 'bomb cyclone' is headed towards the East Coast. It might sound cool, but it's actually pretty scary. Every state from Maine to Florida - a 1,500 mile stretch - has severe weather alerts. Some parts of the Northeast will even be colder than Mars.
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But what is a 'bomb cyclone'? The Washington Post describes it as a kind of winter hurricane:
"First, a very large and powerful storm will hammer coastal locations from Georgia to Maine with ice and snow. By Thursday, the exploding storm will, in many ways, resemble a winter hurricane, battering easternmost New England with potentially damaging winds in addition to blinding snow.
Forecasters are expecting the storm to become a so-called “bomb cyclone” because its pressure is predicted to fall so fast, an indicator of explosive strengthening. The storm could rank as the most intense over the waters east of New England in decades at this time of year."
Pretty scary, huh? It seems Ragnarok is finally upon us. You can understand why everyone is freaking out on Twitter (although some of the comments are pretty funny).
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Anyway, if you live on the East Coast, stay safe and warm. I'll stick to rolling my eyes at everyone complaining about the sixty degree weather in Los Angeles. And while the storms might make travel impossible, who knows? You might find something fun to do in the cold, like make "snot-sicles."
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A cold blast and blizzards have transformed houses into something more reminiscent of igloos near Lake Erie in New York. The remarkable transformation was brought to the world's attention on social media, where people have been sharing pictures of the icy homes.
In many cases, the ice covering the homes is so thick that residents have had to dig their way outside with tools.
This is what's really worrying those whose houses have turned into igloos:
In an interview with WGRZ, Hoover Beach resident Ed Mis said: "I actually had to go out a secondary door and then chisel my way back into the house by breaking the ice.
"This is like our sixth storm in a matter of a few months, and it's kind of wearing on everybody."
It's not known how the ice will have affected the homes it has encased, however, significant damage was done to homes in the area because of the blizzard's winds, which reached up to 60mph and toppled trees and powerlines, Accuweather reports.
Unfortunately, the geographical location of the blizzard has made it worse for residents close to Lake Erie. This is because of what's known as the "lake effect", which, per Merriam Webster, involves warmer water from a lake mixing with the cold air of a storm, creating additional precipitation that can manifest as snowfall.
In response to the pictures of the igloo houses, one Twitter user wrote: "What did they think would happen living so close to the Lake? I bet Rt 5 near St Francis was horrible, too! (I grew up near Mickey Rats in Angola, so I do understand the draw to the Lake.)"
Every winter, the United States is hit by a polar vortex, an expanse of swirling cold air traveling south from the North Pole. However, this year the temperatures are unusually chilly, plunging as low as sixty degrees below zero (Fahrenheit). This arctic blast is mainly affecting the Midwest, where it's gotten so cold that Chicago is lighting their train tracks on fire.
As a result of this record-breaking low weather, many schools, businesses and government buildings have been closed. Tragically, it's so cold beer can't be transported in Minnesota., because the booze will freeze before getting delivered. Several states have declared a state of emergency, with officials advising citizens not to go outside, as fatal frostbite could set in within minutes.
But luckily, some people don't give a crap what the officials say. It's a once-in-a-lifetime extreme weather event! We're going to take that polar vortex, and make polar vortex-ade. All across the Midwest, people are doing bizarre things to prove that the weather, to quote Andre 3000 from Outkast, is "colder than a polar bear's toenails." Here are some highlights:
(Warning: Do not throw boiling water into the air if the wind is blowing toward you, because you could seriously hurt yourself, and end up looking like The Hound from Game of Thrones. Also, what are you even doing outside? There's a polar vortex, dummy!)
Well, I live in Los Angeles, and tonight it's supposed to get pretty cold: 56 degrees F, possibly 55. Brrrr! Maybe I'll go outside, throw a pot of boiling water in the air, and see what happens.
Credit - Twitter @ElijahPorterMom[/caption]
Extreme weather conditions have been the cause of quite a few scary news stories recently - the tragedy of the recent Australian bushfires, for instance. On the other side of the world, Canada is dealing with the exact opposite problem as Newfoundland and Labrador have been hit by the worst blizzard in half a century. But, while global warming is no laughing matter, the situation in Canada is slightly less devastating than the one in Australia.
So, being a good-humored people, the Canadians have taken to the internet to share pictures of the ridiculous weather conditions they're having to put up with. A lot of them demonstrate that good humor in the face of such a bizarre situation, while others are spookily beautiful. So let's see if we can put the scarier, sadder side of global warming to the back of our minds for once and enjoy these photos that show the lighter side of it.
[post_page_title]#1 Snowman[/post_page_title]
Get used to pictures of massive snowbanks that have built up outside the door, by the way. There are a LOT of them.
[caption id="attachment_4917" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @Mk2995[/caption]
It's a bit of luck they had the exact props they needed to make this snowman already lying around the house because they wouldn't have been able to pop out for them.
[post_page_title]#2 Fingerprints[/post_page_title]
Another "snowbank outside my door" photo. A little less creative than the first, but still impressive.
[caption id="attachment_4918" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @Jason_Sheppard_[/caption]
I'm a big fan of the handprints on this one, which seems to suggest that somebody patted the snow ineffectually before realizing that wasn't going to do any good.
[post_page_title]#3 Snowfall Meter[/post_page_title]
It must be a terrible feeling to realize that, as the blizzard settles in, you've got nothing to do but sit back and watch it. Luckily, this person found a way to pass the time.
[caption id="attachment_4919" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @BCbaydoll[/caption]
Let's hope they didn't use a permanent marker, as it'd be a shame for your window to become a constant reminder of that boring morning you spent watching the snowfall.
[post_page_title]#4 Blanketed House[/post_page_title]
This house has been so perfectly blanketed that it looks like a blank, factory-reset model of a house that you'd buy before painting it whatever colors you wanted.
[caption id="attachment_4920" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @kevinru70846539[/caption]
There are no footsteps anywhere, so presumably, the person who took this photo didn't actually come FROM the house. I wonder if they knocked to check that everyone was ok?
[post_page_title]#5 Dinosaur Attack[/post_page_title]
As with the snowman, if you're stuck in your house, you've got to make your own fun with whatever you have to hand. Looks like these guys had a dinosaur head just lying around.
[caption id="attachment_4921" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @videogirlprod[/caption]
Either that or this is an actual photo of a real dinosaur attack happening in the middle of a blizzard. Let's hope for the former.
[post_page_title]#6 Snow Canyon[/post_page_title]
There are two possible explanations for this picture, as well. One is that a monumental clearing effort has gone into getting the snow off this road.
[caption id="attachment_4922" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @artcgreen[/caption]
The other is that there was some sort of giant snake or worm sleeping here when the snow fell, which has now slithered off. I know which explanation I prefer.
[post_page_title]#7 Confused Dog[/post_page_title]
This poor dog is probably used to this fence being considerably taller than it is here, and is struggling to work out why it now seems to be so much smaller than him.
[caption id="attachment_4924" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @Laing90125[/caption]
Poor guy must have very cold feet, as well.
[post_page_title]#8 Romantic Snow Dinner[/post_page_title]
A romantic dinner for two by candlelight surrounded by snow. The perfect date! Very romantic and atmospheric, and the perfect excuse for lots of cuddling if it gets too cold.
[caption id="attachment_4925" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @musicschooldean[/caption]
It would be tricky for the food to stay warm for very long, though, so I hope they eat quickly.
[post_page_title]#9 One Headlamp Exposed[/post_page_title]
It looks like this picture was taken after quite a lot of work with how deep the snowdrift is and how much seems to have been dug out of it.
[caption id="attachment_4926" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @JodyJFoss[/caption]
It must be particularly frustrating, then, to have only exposed one of the car's lights after all that effort. Back to work!
[post_page_title]#10 Open Sunroof[/post_page_title]
This guy accidentally left his sunroof open just before the blizzard hit, which has left him with a much larger clean-up job than everybody else.
[caption id="attachment_4927" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @StephenGorman13[/caption]
I hope he clears it out before it melts, or the upholstery is going to be ruined!
[post_page_title]#11 Car Iceberg[/post_page_title]
The sheer shard of snow pointing out on the right there is a scary thing. I'd be very wary of walking anywhere near it in case it all collapsed.
[caption id="attachment_4928" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @HasanHaiNL[/caption]
But I suppose the priority is digging the car out, so any potential avalanches can be dealt with later.
[post_page_title]#12 Light At The End Of The Tunnel[/post_page_title]
This one's pretty spooky. Whether that light is a car headlight, the moon, or something altogether more supernatural I don't know, but it makes for an atmospheric photo.
[caption id="attachment_4929" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Imgur @GameOfThors[/caption]
I guess if you saw this and heard mysterious voices calling for you to walk towards the light, then you'd know for sure that something weird was going on. I'll just hope it's a car headlight.
[post_page_title]#13 Roadsign[/post_page_title]
I like to imagine that this woman has walked past this roadsign every day cursing it for being taller than her, and hoping that one day she'll get to put it in its place.
[caption id="attachment_4930" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @carriecomerfor1[/caption]
After the blizzard, she finally gets her wish and can make that roadsign feel pretty silly for having been so tall all this time.
[post_page_title]#14 A Perfectly Preserved Door[/post_page_title]
Again, not quite as creative as our friend the snowman earlier on, but full marks for having preserved such a perfect impression of their front door in the snow.
[caption id="attachment_4932" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Reddit @WillOfTheLand[/caption]
Now if they ever wanted to clone their front door, they've got a perfect cast to base it off!
[post_page_title]#15 Cold Dog[/post_page_title]
I hope very much that this family dug a small hole and then encouraged their dog to sit in it for the photo. Because the alternative is that this dog got buried in snow and had to be dug out.
[caption id="attachment_4916" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @ElijahPorterMom[/caption]
He looks such an adorable guy that I wouldn't wish that fate on him so I sure hope this was just a cute photo opp.
[post_page_title]#16 Tall Man[/post_page_title]
As with the dog previously, it's hard to tell if this guy has dug a gap big enough for him to stand in, or if he was encased in snow, hands in the air, for hours and has only just been freed.
[caption id="attachment_4933" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @Garthero[/caption]
If it's the second, his arms must be very tired and I hope he gets the chance to go and relax somewhere.
[post_page_title]#17 Windows[/post_page_title]
All I can think about is how scared I'd be of the glass smashing and snow just pouring into my home. I hope they held out for long enough.
[caption id="attachment_4934" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @ElijahPorterMom[/caption]
I also think the plastic sheet they've got on the table is a little strange, but I guess there are more important things to worry about.
[post_page_title]#18 Snow Arch[/post_page_title]
Whether this happened naturally or has been dug out this way, I don't know, but it looks an awful lot of fun. I'd probably start off by daring friends to run underneath it without it collapsing on them.
[caption id="attachment_4935" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @JCFPC[/caption]
Then if that got too boring, I'd start daring people to climb up and walk across it. Might end in tears, though.
[post_page_title]#19 Nature's Fridge[/post_page_title]
Here we find someone who's really turning the blizzard to their own advantage by turning a snowdrift into a natural fridge.
[caption id="attachment_4936" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @SouWesterSoul[/caption]
There's still plenty of room for a few more bottles as well, or maybe to freeze some leftovers and have them again later in the week.
[post_page_title]#20 Scared Dog[/post_page_title]
I don't know if this dog has ever seen snow before, but whether he has or not, his body language seems to suggest that he doesn't trust it one little bit.
[caption id="attachment_4937" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Imgur @GameOfThors[/caption]
I hope he wasn't told that he has to go out into it and was allowed to spend the evening sitting around in his pyjamas if that's what he wanted.
[post_page_title]#21 Car Trenches[/post_page_title]
People seem to have put a lot of effort into digging trenches so they can get to their cars, though I don't know why. It doesn't look like they'll be able to get very far in them even when they have dug them out.
[caption id="attachment_4938" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @BairdTom[/caption]
But I guess on a snow day you've got to fill your time somehow, right?
[post_page_title]#22 Digging Out The Door[/post_page_title]
Not content to just take a photo of the snowbank that has built up outside his door, this guy has decided to take action and dig his way to freedom.
[caption id="attachment_4940" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @barhaven[/caption]
Unfortunately, it looks like his bath isn't quite big enough to hold it all, so maybe he'll have to wait a little longer.
[post_page_title]#23 Snow Bales[/post_page_title]
I can't believe that this little kid dug out all those snow bales! That pile is absolutely enormous! He must have had help from somebody. Or is this the hardest-working kid of all time?
[caption id="attachment_4941" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
inside
Credit - Twitter @JoFennelly[/caption]
Either way, good on him. He looks very proud of himself, and he should be, he's done a great job and also kept things very neat.
[post_page_title]#24 Under The Bonnet[/post_page_title]
After hours digging out trenches to get to your car, it must be very frustrating to realize that you can't go anywhere in it yet until you've also dug out all the snow inside the thing.
[caption id="attachment_4942" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @Chantel76576879[/caption]
I also don't know enough about cars to know which bit you should focus on digging out first. Maybe calling the AA out was the best thing to do all along.
[post_page_title]#25 Door Selfie[/post_page_title]
This guy is so impressed with the snowbank outside his door that he's decided to take a photo of himself next to it, looking very proud indeed.
[caption id="attachment_4943" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @art_colored[/caption]
Does anybody want to tell him that there are about seven other pictures of doors like this in this article alone? I don't have the heart.
[post_page_title]#26 Car Stepping Stones[/post_page_title]
I wonder if you could leap from one car rooftop to the other without any run-up? It looks pretty far, but I reckon a proper athlete could do it.
[caption id="attachment_4944" align="aligncenter" width="700"]
Credit - Twitter @UntamedBeauti[/caption]
Yeah, it might not be the most entertaining game ever, but like I said, you've got to create your own fun in a blizzard.
[post_page_title]#27 Trenches Again[/post_page_title]
People digging out trenches in order to get at their cars again, this time taken from an angle that makes it look like a game of Tetris or Frogger or something.
[caption id="attachment_4945" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Twitter @PeterCBC[/caption]
I do feel bad for these guys and all the trouble they're having to go to in order to dig for freedom, but all this picture's done is make me want to play an old-fashioned computer game.
[post_page_title]#28 One More Door[/post_page_title]
And, yes, we've seen a lot of these now, but they're the bread-and-butter of this story, so let's have one last picture of a big snowdrift that's built up outside a door.
[caption id="attachment_4946" align="aligncenter" width="800"]
Credit - Imgur @GameOfThor[/caption]
Think I've seen enough of those pictures to get me through all of 2020, now.
When you're hit with a blizzard, or a 'bomb cyclone,' or an attack from Elsa, it's easy to get depressed. If the roads are too icy, or totally blanketed with snow, you can't go anywhere. And even if you can drive, you have to scrape the ice off your car windows, and let the engine warm up for ages. Just walking outside feels miserable. Nobody wants to build snowmen, or go sledding or make snow angels in record-breaking sub-zero temperature. Unless you're an Ice Zombie on Game of Thrones, extreme winter is nothing to get excited about.
However, sometimes you can find beauty in the madness. Since New Year's Eve, America's been hit with an unprecedented cold front. There's been some expected, but depressing consequences, like massive pile-ups on icy roads, and a dumb Donald Trump tweet saying cold weather proves global warming is a sham. But there's also been some stunning effects, like glistening "ice balls" honeycombed on the shore of Lake Michigan, and the frozen splendor of Niagara Falls coated in ice.
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Perhaps the most beautiful sight, though, is people blowing bubbles out in the cold, and watching them freeze. Snowflakes swirl around inside, creating a wobbly, ephemeral snow globe; then the flakes slowly expand, filling the crystal sphere with sun-dappled frosty whiteness. The visual is surprisingly hypnotic. On Twitter, everyone's posting their attempts at this fractal ice magic, with the trending hashtag #BubbleMadness.
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And after you're done making the bubble, you can blow it away. Pretty cool, right? If you ever wanted to feel like a certain Snow Queen from Frozen, this is the perfect opportunity. So feel free to bust out your blue dress, sing "The cold never bothered me anyway!" and make friends with an annoying magical snowman.
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Want to make bubbles that don't immediately swell up and burst? One Twitter user offered some advice: If you combine the water and dish soap with salt and vinegar, the bubble stays intact, giving you more time to be mesmerized by the lovely frost patterns. (And, you know, not think about how cold you are standing out in this nightmare arctic tundra, when you could be at home, drinking hot chocolate, and watching BoJack Horseman on Netflix.)
We're only a couple days into January, and have seen some pretty insane weather. The year 2018 is not off to a great start. But it's nice to see people are finding a silver lining with #BubbleMadness. I grew up in northern Minnesota, and always hated the winter (which is why I currently live in Los Angeles). But you know what? Now I'm starting to see the appeal. I think I'll move back to Minnesota and make some - nope, already changed my mind. I'm going to stay in California where it's warm and watch you guys make ice bubbles on Twitter. Have fun!
A polar vortex brought chaos to the United States earlier this year, with parts of the country dropping to below-freezing temperatures. Temperatures dropped as low as -40C in some areas, with some states even becoming colder than Antarctica.
In Chicago, the temperature reached -30C during the peak of the cold front, and locals were warned not to breathe deeply when outside. By late January, over 56 per cent of Lake Michigan was completely frozen over - leading many social media users to share their stunning photos of the lake.
In some instances, steam fog was spotted rising from the lake. This phenomenon comes from when the water temperature is higher than the air temperature, causing what is referred to as a 'boiling cauldron' effect.
Now, there is yet another strange phenomenon that has emerged from Lake Michigan as a result of the cold weather. Now that we're entering Spring, ice shards are beginning to pile up on top of one another.
These ice shelves were formed during the winter as hills formed, from waves crashing over existing ice piles. The recent thawing has resulted in sheets of ice breaking, leading to shards of ice being pushed to the surface.
Initially reported by MLive.com (where you can see even more images), there have been some stunning photos taken of this new phenomenon, which is visible along South Haven's pier.
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