What the Heck is Frazil Ice?

This cold-weather phenomenon requires a particular set of variables: a clear night, a slight offshore wind and plunging temperatures. Learn why it can mean disaster for water system intakes.
What the Heck is Frazil Ice?
Here, frazil ice clings to a water intake in Manitowoc, Wis. The image is from January 2008 when the air temperature was a chilly -3 F and the water temperature was 32 degrees.

First it forms. Then it multiplies. Then it attaches to underwater structures like water system intakes.

It’s frazil ice, and it’s led to the frazzled nerves of managers of surface water systems, especially those along the Great Lakes. Municipalities such as Evanston, Ill.,...

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