Ashland, Wisconsin, United States – Video filmed by X user Cheryl shows the early formation of ice on Lake Superior, as described in the caption: “Turn the sound up cool sounds of ice cracking as Lake Superior is starting to make ice in Ashland WI 15 deg”.

The unsteady handheld recording slowly moves across a cold shoreline beneath a gray, overcast sky. It reveals a wide stretch of broken white ice, slushy pancake formations, and uneven chunks of ice gathered along the lake’s edge.

In the foreground and middle distance, the surface visibly splits and shifts, producing loud cracking and popping sounds as fresh ice develops. Beyond the fractured layer, darker open water extends outward.

The camera angle changes and sweeps toward the far shoreline of Ashland, where bare trees, homes, industrial structures, and tall smokestacks—some releasing light plumes—stand against the frozen landscape.

The footage was recorded on December 1, 2025, during the first major cold period of the season. It was later shared by weather outlets and featured by Storyful, as Lake Superior began to resemble “a huge ice skating rink” with pancake ice and a forming surface, emphasizing the striking sounds and visuals of early winter ice development.

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