'A pretty amazing phenomenon': Giant ice shoves form on Lake Winnipeg
Even though it is spring, some Manitobans were in for a cool surprise over the weekend as ice piled up on the shore of Lake Winnipeg, creating what looked like giant hills of ice.
Ron Suzuki, who lives in Winnipeg Beach, said he drove out to Riverton, Man., on Friday evening and saw the ice piled up about 25 feet high.
Ice shoves on the shore of Lake Winnipeg. (Source Ron Suzuki)
“It was all along this one spit, it’s called Sandy Bar Beach…the ice was pushed up against that whole area,” he said in an interview on Tuesday. “It even pushed sand and dirt up to it as well.”
As for what caused the ice pile up, Alex Crawford, a research associate and sessional instructor at the U of M’s Centre for Earth Observation Science, said this is a classic “ice shove.”
Crawford explained that ice shoves most commonly occur in the spring and involve a mobile ice cover and a persistent wind.
An ice shove on Lake Winnipeg. (Source: Kirby and Celina Russell)
“For the ice cover to be mobile, it needs to be floating on the water. If it's too thick, it might grind on the lake bed and not move easily,” he said in a statement.
Crawford added that mobile ice packs are more common in the spring melt season, because in the fall the ice grows from the shore, but in the spring the melting typically occurs around the shoreline before the centre of the lake.
To then drive the mobile ice cover onto the shore and create an ice shove, it takes a strong, persistent wind.
“These winds blew all that ice onshore, pushing it up relentlessly into those piles,” Crawford said.
“The wind acted like a conveyor belt at a grocery store with nobody bagging, and the ice floes were like the groceries. If the conveyor belt keeps pushing more groceries to the bagging area, they will start piling up at the end.
Other factors, such as water fluctuations, can also contribute to ice shoves.
Suzuki said that he’s seen ice shoves once before in Winnipeg Beach in April 2010.
“It’s a pretty amazing phenomenon,” he said. “I think it’s pretty unique. You need a really big lake.”
The ice shove on the shore of Lake Winnipeg. (Source: Ron Suzuki)
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Western University researchers unlock potential 'cure' for ALS
New research out of London, Ont.'s Western University is shedding light on a potential cure for ALS, in which the targeting of the interaction between two proteins can halt or fully reverse the disease's progression.
Police release 3D images of young child found in an Ontario river two years ago
Police have released a three-dimensional image of a young child whose remains were discovered in the Grand River in Dunnville, Ont. almost two years ago.
B.C. brings in law on name changes on day that child killer's new identity revealed
The BC NDP have tabled legislation aimed at stopping people who have committed certain heinous acts from changing their names.
Kamala Harris drops F-bomb during White House live-stream
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris used a profanity on Monday while offering advice to young Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders about how to break through barriers.
B.C. man fighting for refund after finding someone living at Whistler vacation rental
Edwin Mostered spent thousands of dollars booking a vacation home in Whistler, B.C., for a group skiing trip earlier this year – or so he thought.
Avs forward Valeri Nichushkin suspended at least six months
Colorado Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin was suspended for at least six months without pay and placed in Stage 3 of the league's player assistance program.
Collapsed Baltimore bridge span comes down with a boom after crews set off chain of explosives
Crews conducted a controlled demolition Monday to break down the largest remaining span of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.
Security video caught admitted serial killer disposing of bodies in Winnipeg garbage bins
Security video caught admitted serial killer Jeremy Skibicki on multiple late-night outings, disposing of body parts in nearby garbage bins and dumpsters in the middle of the night.
Mortgage companies could intensify the next recession, U.S. officials warn
U.S. officials worry the next recession could be intensified by a cascading series of failures in the mortgage industry caused by crashing home prices, frozen financial markets and soaring delinquencies.