Around hundreds of giant balls have been reported to appear on the beach near a remote Russian village of Nyda that falls in the Arctic Circle.
The experts are confused whether to call them ice balls or snow boulders. Whatever these may be named, these naturally-formed snowballs or ice balls eroded the beach in northern Siberia last week as well. The matter of fact is that these ice balls can be observed over an 18 km stretch all along the sea line of the Gulf of Ob.
Residents in the Nyda village were astonished to not have witnessed anything like this ever before. As per the locals, all the snowballs differ in sizes. These could be easily characterized to dimensions sizing from a small tennis ball to huge volleyballs.
In fact, few were as big as three feet in diameter. However, according to the Weather Underground, the ice balls are a result of mushy and frazil ice. These are generally formed when wobbly, needle-shaped ice crystals get accumulated in the water.
And then these take a spherical shape when waves roll the ice crystals over and over again in the water. Moreover, during tremendously chilly weather, these ice balls generally tend to wash up the shorelines.
The snow ball forming process is both sporadic and yet innovative though the same has not appeared for the first time. In 2010, a Chicago Tribune video also showcased snowballs that washed up along Lake Michigan. Similar snowballs were previously also witnessed at the Great Lakes of United States as well.
Image Credit: Siberiantimes.com