Hundreds of enormous snowballs have formed on the Russian coast, and it looks like a magical winter wonderland
The Arctic Circle wasn’t at the top of my “dream vacation” list, but it just moved up to the number one spot. I’m willing to brave the chilly temperatures now that I’ve received word of the hundreds of enormous snowballs that have formed on the Russian coast. The beach near Nyda, a remote Russian village, is covered with massive, naturally-formed snowballs and it looks like a magical winter wonderland.
The formations range in size, but some snowballs measure nearly three feet wide (roughly the size of a volleyball) according to the BBC. Even the village’s oldest residents have never seen anything like it, a local administrator told The Siberian Times.
It looks like a scene from Frozen and I bet the snowball fights are out of this world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3DrqPDYR3g?feature=oembed
I’m experiencing serious FOMO just from looking at the pictures.
Sergei Lisenkov, press secretary of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute explained how the snowballs were formed:
"As a rule, first there is a primary natural phenomenon -- sludge ice, slob ice. Then comes a combination of the effects of the wind, the lay of the coastline, and the temperature and wind conditions. It can be such an original combination that it results in the formation of balls like these."
Why is this beach covered in giant snowballs? Some as large as volleyballs! https://t.co/c4VolOopfE pic.twitter.com/hhBwKiMfZV
— Planet Green (@PlanetGreen) November 7, 2016
It’s rare, but it’s not the first time the phenomenon has been seen. Snow formations the size of beach balls appeared on Lake Michigan in 2013, much to the delight of the area’s residents, and it was also witnessed in the Gulf of Finland in 2014.
Sadly, most of us will never get to experience the snow day of our dreams — but at least we can live vicariously through the lucky residents’ photos.
