A Lake In Canada Looks Like A Sea Of Frozen Timbits After A Rare Weather Phenomenon Hit

A rare weather phenomenon has transformed a Canadian lake into thousands of slush balls.

As frigid temperatures hit, rather than Lake Manitoba turning into a flat, frozen surface which is typically expected through the winter months, it looked more like someone has spilled thousands of frozen Timbits.

The photos were taken by Peter Hofbauer, from Steep Rock Kayak and Canoe, which is based on the eastern shore of the lake, around 200 kilometres from Winnipeg.

He spotted the strange lake event and sent his photos to Narcity.

@steeprockkayak | Instagram

In his post on Instagram, which has now been shared hundreds of times, he posted, "Have you ever seen the lake freeze like this?"

He wanted to explore the weather phenomenon even further and carved a block of ice out of the lake. He said it was around 8 inches thick.

Glaciologist Jeff Kavanaugh told CBC that the formations are actually caused due to supercooled water.

This means that the water remains as a liquid even when temperatures dip below its normal freezing point, allowing it to be rolled around and shaped by strong winds. Then, once it finally freezes, it is shaped into blocks of ice sophisticatedly referred to as slush balls.

So, how rare are these ice formations? Kavanaugh, an associate professor in earth and atmospheric sciences at the University of Alberta, told CBC he has never experienced these slush balls in person.