Snow Beautiful

 Winter arrived, for a short time anyway.

 The snow was still falling this morning as the sun attempted to shine.

 Big, wet flakes clung to every tree branch and rock.

 Fence posts were topped with pure white mounds of snow.

Most of it is gone from the trees at 2pm, but it was beautiful while it lasted.

Mysterious and Rare Precipitation

The snowflakes were so large and slow on this day that I was able to capture them on camera. This is the only substantial snow we've had in February, and it totaled about 3 inches. Most days are above freezing, and traffic to the Iceberg Hoax post has slowed down considerably from years past. Strangest winter I've ever experienced. From 2/10/12.

Iced Donuts

 See those little islands out there?  They are like these, only sparser. We had our first substantial snowfall of the winter, about 6 inches (and it's January 23rd!)

 When they get to shore, they pile up in these giant banks.

Bank + ice rounds. From 1/23/12.

Brushstrokes

Those clouds look whisked onto the sky.  And we got some snow! From 1/13/12.

What a Difference a Day Makes

To quote guest photographer MT directly. Same Sheboygan view, different Sheboygan weather. From today, 2/20/11.

You Want "Icebergs" in Lake Michigan?

This is the best we can do (unlike this). Big, huge chunks of snow washed into the harbor channel by last week's big storm/waves.
The second "iceberg" (in back) is piled up along the concrete breakers.
For scale.
Here's one giant non-eroded pile of snow on shore. There are piles like this all along the shoreline. And all this after several days of melting in the warm (40 degrees!) temperatures.

How to choose?

So many pretty pictures, I just couldn't do it. Which is your favorite? From Saturday, 2/5/11.

Cliff Notes

Yesterday's "ice fields" have now been pushed into shore, where they have formed messy, sandy cliffs of ice.
Extending all along the shore.
And the remaining ice has drifted back out to sea...

No Lifeguard On Duty

Have you ever wondered how Lake Michigan would look after 2 feet of snow and 15 or so hours of huge winds/waves? Well, wonder no more dear readers!
It looks very similar to a plowed field after a heavy snow. Very bumpy and white. But with piles of snow on the periphery.

Here's a closer look. Click on it to see the larger and more impressive version. All of these were taken from the beach near my home, where we spent our day shoveling 6 foot drifts off our driveway and waiting for the power to come on (it did after 17 hours). The next few days, depending on wave action, should reveal some impressive piles of ice on the shore. Come back and see!

Threatening

We are expecting a huge snowstorm in the next 24-48 hours. We begin it with a coating of ice/snow on the lake's surface.
The rippling ice is a site to behold.
At noon, these ominous clouds were looming.
By late afternoon, the low clouds were threatening to burst open. But so far, only flurries. We shall see...

Snowy Gray

From Monday, 2/22/10. It has been a wintry week.

Afternoon Island view

The ice cliffs have eroded into islands (or icebergs?) and are enjoying the much calmer Lake today.

Now here are some icebergs!

All that snow piled up to make some interesting formation, as predicted.
Breaking waves will wear this down by the afternoon, I'm sure.
Here's the panoramic view.

Heaving

We have had an impressive amount of snow today (not as much as the east coast, but a foot is impressive) and it's also windy. We went down to the beach to see what the Lake was doing. Huge heaving waves that occasionally broke and splashed into the air, which became ice chunks on the way down. The surface of the water looked like a desert that was alive, with the dunes shifting around before your eyes. Through it all, brave gulls were flying and diving. It was very hard to take photos because of the blowing snow on the lens (and in the eyes) and the cold wind that made it hard to be out of gloves for more than a minute. The shoreline ice formations should be amazing this week.

Cliffs, Ripples

The topping of ice chunks was gently rippling this morning.
A few days of not photographing the cliffs, and look what happens! Lots of build up. 12-14 inches of snow is forecast during the next 24 hours. Will it happen?

Trapezoids

These ice formations are so amazing I had to post all the pictures that turned out okay. Just look. Stunning.

Solid Grid

On Friday, the Lake started freezing solid, creating giant plates that collided with each other in the mild swells.
Then it snowed on Saturday, just lightly, lots of big, slow, fluffy, crystal-y flakes, covering the whole surface of plates with a clean frosting. So it looks like a solid plain of white now.

White out!

I'm so happy I finally got shots where you can SEE the falling snow!
Yesterday was a snow day from local schools. You can barely see the water here.

New Blue Year

There's a New Year's Eve Blue Moon tonight, a once in a few decades occurance. I'm so glad I was there to watch the moon rise over the clouds. Happy New Year to all! More pics below:
Setting sun produces beautiful colors.
The pier is lit up.
Row of benches and pink sky.