28-01-2025
Lake Stars: What Are They And How Do They Form?
Arranged in a pattern on a thin layer of ice, lake stars are an incredible wintertime phenomenon that has actually been researched very little.
Take a look at this photo taken by Cristie Harold. She spotted these lake stars on a frozen pond in North Carolina.
(For even more granular weather data tracking in your area, view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.)
Lake stars are rather common in Alaska and around the Great Lakes, where conditions can be extremely cold. For lake stars to form, it is believed that a thin layer of ice needs to be present with heavy snowfall on top.
They begin with a single hole, and then spidery branches extend from there, creating a star-like pattern on the ice.
Very few scientists have studied these mysterious patterns, however, Victor Tsai, a geophysicist with the Seismological Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology has spent some time getting to the bottom of their formation and existence.
He found that the snow cover on the ice has to be heavy enough to weigh the ice down just enough to allow water from the lake below to spill out on top. This allows for warm lake water to come through the hole in the ice and spread across the slushy snow on top. As the water melts the snow - the arm of the star is formed (or the dark spider-like veins that extend from the center).
Because lake stars form on thinner ice, never try to walk out and get a closer look. The lake is most likely far too thin to support anyone to venture out and could be incredibly dangerous. Soaking them in from the shore is your best bet - while you marvel at one of nature's spectacular winter season creations.
Ready To Learn More? Here Are Some Recent Weather Words You May Have Missed:
Flare-up
Fire Front
Red flag warnings
Hypothermia
You can find our archive of Weather Words here.
Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.
