What Is Pancake Ice + What Does It Mean For Lake Superior?

Pancakes! Ok, I've got your attention. Who doesn't love pancakes? I stumbled on a photo recently of some ice formations on Lake Superior that looked familiarly peculiar. I've seen it before, but I've never heard the term until now. It's called "Pancake Ice." What is it, and how does it happen?

What is pancake ice?

It's easy to see why they call it pancake ice because it looks exactly like that. They are little round pancake-shaped ice chunks floating in Lake Superior.

How does pancake ice form?

Pancake ice is just smaller chunks of ice that can't form a big sheet because of the waves of a big body of water. Of course, with Lake Superior being the largest freshwater lake in the world, it happens every winter. The rolling waves don't initially allow the water to freeze into a sheet, so the chunks of ice floating bump into each other.

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How does it get its shape?

Over time, the ice chunks swirl and bump into each other and round off the edges. This is what causes the phenomenon of 'ice pancakes.' Pretty neat, right?

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What does it tell us about the weather?

Usually, ice pancakes are a sign that the water will soon become completely froze. Our mild December has led to very little ice coverage on Lake Superior until this week. As of yesterday, only 2.73% of Lake Superior had ice on it.

Now, it seems old man winter is catching up with colder-than-average temperatures this week across the Great Lakes.