The frozen houses that looked like a scene from a fairytale or nightmare
This Day In Weather History is a daily podcast by Chris Mei from The Weather Network, featuring stories about people, communities and events and how weather impacted them.
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Hamburg, New York, is less than 20 minutes from Buffalo. The town runs along Lake Erie, and for some local beach-front dwellers, the lake ran along and froze to their homes.
Ice completely encased their homes.
Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz
Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "Welcome to Narnia: Two days of gale force winds along Lake Erie have iced over many of the homes along the beach in Hamburg, NY. @news4buffalo @News_8 @EricSnitilWx @JamesGilbertWX @wnywxguy @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @StormHour @NatalieKucko pic.twitter.com/uMvIdVWMGz / Twitter"
Wind gusts of 75 km/h blew waves ashore and freezing temperatures quickly turned the water into ice. This happened again and again until some houses were covered in almost a metre of ice.
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Residents in these homes need to use chisels to enter and exit their houses. The ice was so thick that it almost completely blocked any natural light from coming through.
19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq
19 Days Until Spring: Until then—-well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter" John Kucko on Twitter: "19 Days Until Spring: Until then--well, you know. This along Lake Erie near Buffalo (Hamburg) may take until May to melt. @news4buffalo @News_8 @spann @JimCantore @StephanieAbrams @wxbywilliams @StormHour @TomNiziol @GarofaloWX @Ginger_Zee #DigitalFirst #NexstarNation pic.twitter.com/EsvTl0ofxq / Twitter"
These houses attracted visitors, which caused safety concerns. The area was not only very slippery, but the roads leading to the houses were not designed for the amount of traffic that these homes garnered.
People who lived in these ice-covered houses also needed to consider carbon monoxide levels because their ventilation was obstructed. They also needed to consider the extra weight of the ice and what could happen when it started to melt.
WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb
WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb / Twitter" this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb / Twitter" WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb / Twitter" WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb / Twitter" WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb / Twitter"
— WEATHER/ METEO WORLD (@StormchaserUKEU) WEATHER/ METEO WORLD on Twitter: "WOW... Absolutely fantastic view of the ice houses in Hamburg, New York on the shores of Lake #Erie this morning 29th February! Photos taken by 📸 https://t.co/eyUuDc7RTJ #severeweather #photooftheday pic.twitter.com/ow0GFCHAVb / Twitter"
Home inspectors did what was necessary to ensure the safety of the residents.
Everyone was safe and all that is left are these photos that deeply unbelievable photos (points for resisting any "Erie" puns?).
To hear more about these ice homes, listen to today's episode of "This Day In Weather History."
Angry #lakeerie @MarkJWeather pic.twitter.com/CG2FupfeCo
Angry Colleen Barnhart on Twitter: "Angry #lakeerie @MarkJWeather pic.twitter.com/CG2FupfeCo / Twitter" Colleen Barnhart on Twitter: "Angry #lakeerie @MarkJWeather pic.twitter.com/CG2FupfeCo / Twitter" Colleen Barnhart on Twitter: "Angry #lakeerie @MarkJWeather pic.twitter.com/CG2FupfeCo / Twitter"
— Colleen Barnhart (@thebarnhearts) Colleen Barnhart on Twitter: "Angry #lakeerie @MarkJWeather pic.twitter.com/CG2FupfeCo / Twitter"
Not as harsh as yesterday but still a biting wind coming in off the lake #lakeerie #wny pic.twitter.com/JWvgXT9saU
Not as harsh as yesterday but still a biting wind coming in off the lake Dan Russell on Twitter: "Not as harsh as yesterday but still a biting wind coming in off the lake #lakeerie #wny pic.twitter.com/JWvgXT9saU / Twitter" Dan Russell on Twitter: "Not as harsh as yesterday but still a biting wind coming in off the lake #lakeerie #wny pic.twitter.com/JWvgXT9saU / Twitter" Dan Russell on Twitter: "Not as harsh as yesterday but still a biting wind coming in off the lake #lakeerie #wny pic.twitter.com/JWvgXT9saU / Twitter"
— Dan Russell (@Dan_Weather_Man) Dan Russell on Twitter: "Not as harsh as yesterday but still a biting wind coming in off the lake #lakeerie #wny pic.twitter.com/JWvgXT9saU / Twitter"
ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT
ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE!
PART 3꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 3#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/NZQfIMw8eT / Twitter"
ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp
ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE!
PART 1꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter" ꧁༺ 𝓛𝓲𝓼𝓪𝓜𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓮 ༻꧂ on Twitter: "ICE HOUSE on the shores of Hoover Beach in Hamburg NY on Lake Erie during this intense winter storm we are having right now here in Western NY. Huge almost two story waves are crashing ashore & freezing. INSANE! PART 1#Buffalo #BuffaloNY #WNY #LakeErie #Buffalove #Winter pic.twitter.com/8IA5qn7nXp / Twitter"
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Thumbnail courtesy of Hank Kleinfelder