Drone video gives haunting view of historic Michigan lighthouse encased in ice
Cold temperatures were part of the forecast in St. Joseph earlier this week, as the National Weather Service forecast wind chills of negative 20 to negative 30 degrees on Monday morning.
Drone video shows historic lighthouse encased in ice in Michigan
Footage shot on Monday captures images of the St. Joseph North Pier Outer Lighthouse that turned into a frozen wonderland. (Courtesy: Nates Dronography via Storyful)
ST. JOSEPH – Footage shot on Monday captures images of the St. Joseph North Pier Inner and Outer Lighthouses in southwest Michigan that turned into a frozen wonderland.
On Sunday, waves from Lake Michigan pummeled the Outer Lighthouse. As the water on the lighthouse began to freeze, a haunting winter scene began to take shape.
Drone video of this scene shows the Outer Lighthouse coated in frost and jagged ice formations. A 360-degree shot shows how much of the structure is encased in ice.
The frozen Outer Lighthouse.
(Nates Dronography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Following the ice-covered catwalk leads to the Inner Lighthouse, which also became covered – though not as completely – in frost and ice.
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The structures replaced older lighthouses in 1906 and 1907, according to the Library of Congress. While the structures were decommissioned in 2005, they are still operating.
Pancake ice on Lake Michigan
![Pancake ice form next to the lighthouses.]()
Image 1 of 2Pancake ice form next to the lighthouses. (Nates Dronography via Storyful)
![A view of neighboring lighthouses on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Michigan. The larger, square lighthouse with a pyramidal roof in the foreground is the St. Joseph North Pier Inner Light. Farther away is the round, 35-foot tall, slightly tapered North Pier Outer Lighthouse, topped by a round watch room and 10-sided lantern room. Both repalced older lightouses on Lake Michigan, on the north breakwater at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, in 1906 and 1907. The lights are connected by an elevated catwalk that extends from the shore to the outer light. They were decommissioned in 2005 but are now [as of 2020] city-owned and still operating.]()
Image 2 of 2A view of the lighthouses on a clear day. (Carol M. Highsmith / Library of Congress)
![A view of neighboring lighthouses on Lake Michigan in St. Joseph, Michigan. The larger, square lighthouse with a pyramidal roof in the foreground is the St. Joseph North Pier Inner Light. Farther away is the round, 35-foot tall, slightly tapered North Pier Outer Lighthouse, topped by a round watch room and 10-sided lantern room. Both repalced older lightouses on Lake Michigan, on the north breakwater at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, in 1906 and 1907. The lights are connected by an elevated catwalk that extends from the shore to the outer light. They were decommissioned in 2005 but are now [as of 2020] city-owned and still operating.](https://images.foxweather.com/static.foxweather.com/www.foxweather.com/content/uploads/2024/01/668/376/service-pnp-highsm-63500-63515v-copy.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Also featured in the drone video is a rare weather phenomenon known as pancake ice. Pancake ice are semi-circular discs of slushy ice that usually form in cold oceans and lakes, according to the U.K. Met Office.
PANCAKE ICE IN MICHIGAN: WHAT IS IT?
Pancake ice begins as a layer of ice crystals that form on the cold water, according to NASA. If the water is rough, its waves cause the layer of ice crystals to break up to form little ice floats, which then crash into each other.
Next to the St. Joseph North Pier lighthouses, the pancake ice appear like wintry inner tubes bobbing in the active waters of Lake Michigan.
Winter weather
The Inner Lighthouse with its red roof in the background.
(Nates Dronography via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Contributing to the ice formations were cold temperatures in St. Joseph earlier this week. According to the National Weather Service, wind chills of negative 20 to negative 30 degrees were expected on Monday morning.
"Conditions of this magnitude can cause frostbite to exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes," they said.
The area was also impacted by lake-effect snow.