Weather Words: Lake Stars

Lake stars form when snow falls onto a frozen lake or pond with thin ice. When the ice is thin, warm water from below can melt portions of the ice above, causing a hole to form in the ice. The warm water then seeps through the hole, melting and turning some of the snow above into slush. This water then seeps out, branching off in different directions, melting more snow in the process. The melted and slushy snow then appears as a star with branches radiating out from the hole, seeping warmer water into the snow above on the frozen lake.

While lake stars are fairly common, they require temperatures near or just above freezing, as well as snow accumulating on the ice. Lake stars are a sign not to walk on the frozen pond or lake. If you see lake stars, it means that the ice is thin, and it is very possible you will fall through the ice if you walk on it, even if it is covered in snow.

Hayden Marshall is a meteorologist intern and First-Year-Master’s Student at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been following weather content over the past three years as a Storm Spotter and weather enthusiast. He can be found on Instagram and Linkedin.