Two spectacular weather phenomena occurred in Michigan at once: ice volcanoes and ice balls, while weather radar picks up massive migration of millions of birds; plus more of today’s weather news and forecast.
Ice volcanoes erupting and ice balls on Michigan Beach
Don’t worry, no lava is involved, but erupting ice volcanoes in Michigan are a spectacular sight to behold and some were captured by the National Weather Service on Oval Beach in West Michigan over the weekend.
Ice volcanoes occur from cones that begin to form at the leading edge of the ice shelf as it bills out into the lake. Driven by strong onshore winds, the waves hit the bottom and break onto the ice shelf.
As the ice shelf builds out more into the lake, the waves travel underneath the ice where water gets forced up through the cracks into the previously formed cones. The result is a blast of ice and slushy water shooting out of the cones in a manner that looks like an erupting volcano.
These two unusual weather phenomena typically occur earlier in the season, but the polar blast over the weekend brought temperatures low enough for them to happen.
Ice balls, which the size of boulders, occur when chunks of ice break off of sheets covering the lake and the churning waves form the pieces into balls.
Historic Mississippi floodwaters expected to recede later this week, but flood issues remain for thousands
Historic levels of flooding along the Mississippi River are expected to recede later this week. However, thousands will remain impacted by the flooding as roads are covered in water and hundreds of homes have been damaged.
In some areas, an additional 1-2 inches of rain could still be possible, inundating structures and roadways that are already plagued by high waters.
Officials in Mississippi anticipate that the number of damaged homes could reach a thousand or more.
Millions of migrating birds show up on weather radar
In a sign that spring may be right around the corner, millions of migrating birds lit up the weather detection radar of the National Weather Service overnight in Key West Florida.
This natural phenomenon usually goes unseen and unnoticed, but the amount of birds migrating at once was so massive that it appeared on radar.
The birds were migrating from south to north across the Florida Keys. Migration is typical around this time of year as more than 118 species of birds begin returning to North America after spending the winter in Central and South America or in the Caribbean.
Today’s US highs
West: San Francisco 62, Los Angeles 74, Reno 50, Las Vegas 64, Salt Lake City 37, Denver 35.
Northwest & Northern Rockies: Seattle 48, Portland 54, Boise 39, Billings 23, Bismarck 6, Rapid City 25.
Southwest: Phoenix 78, Albuquerque 57, El Paso 72, San Antonio 73, Brownsville 83.
Central and Upper Midwest: Lubbock 48, Dallas 62, Oklahoma City 49, Kansas City 43, Minneapolis 21, Madison 31.
Ohio Valley: Chicago 37, Detroit 39, St. Louis 42, Cincinnati 54.
South: Houston 75, New Orleans 77, Memphis 60, Atlanta 62, Charlotte 60, Jacksonville 82, Tampa 87, Miami 81.
East: Norfolk 65, Washington, D.C. 56, Buffalo 44, New York 50, Boston 40, Bangor 21.