Strange ice circles form on Wisconsin lake
A mystery on Potter Lake in Walworth County: Dozens of ice circles suddenly appeared this week.
A mystery on Potter Lake in Walworth County: Dozens of ice circles suddenly appeared this week.
A mystery on Potter Lake in Walworth County: Dozens of ice circles suddenly appeared this week.
A mystery on Potter Lake in Walworth County: Dozens of ice circles suddenly appeared this week.
A resident took a photo of the phenomenon and sent it to WISN 12 looking for answers.
"(I) went upstairs and immediately could see all these circles on the lake," said Timothy Krenke, of East Troy. "And I'd never seen it before."
He said seeing the circles reminded him of the movie "Signs."
"Actually, the first thing I thought of was crop circles on the lake," Krenke said.
A small park near the lake was eerily quiet Thursday.
"I know that Mark Baden calls himself a weather geek. And so I sent him an email of the picture, figuring maybe he could tell me exactly what it was," Krenke said.
WISN 12 took the photo to a senior scientist at UW Milwaukee's School of Freshwater Sciences, Dr. Russell Cuhel.
"The first thing I think about when I see circles of ice is, 'I think about erosion,'" he said. "And I think about when ice forms and then moves how the sharp edges break off. And leading to the ultimate formation of a circle."
Cuhel said the circles appear to be some early form of pancake ice from underwater movement and surface wind.
"The only thing I can think of is the lake has opened up and froze probably three or four times already this year," Krenke said.