Piles of ice crash into homes as it melts on Minnesota’s lakes

Warmer weather means Lake Mille Lacs in Minnesota is starting to thaw, and as it does ice waves are slowly crashing into homes on the shore.

The technical term is an ice shove, as the wind is shoving the ice onto the shore.

“What’s happening is the ice is beginning to melt as we are heading into mid-spring,” CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward said. “As it melts, strong winds push the ice and begins to pile up on itself. As the ice piles up it grows taller and is more prone to being pushed by the winds.”

Resident Steven Johnson captured the moment a wave of ice made its way onto the back porch of a home, breaking windows and causing the wood on the deck to groan from the pressure.

Johnson said it was the highest he had ever seen an ice shove and estimates the pile was about 30 feet tall.

“If you’ve lived here, you just know it’s always a potential to happen this time of year,” Tina Chapman, the executive director of the Mille Lacs Area Tourism Council, told CNN affiliate WCCO. “If it happens, you just hope the wind is blowing the opposite direction from your house.”

Luckily, Chapman said that the ice is soft this year which causes less damage than if it comes in large chunks.

The conclusion of the ice melt varies depending on temperature and location, but as soon as the wind eases ice shoves tend to slow down.