Niagara Falls has turned into a frozen wonderland with the record-breaking cold snap, attracting visitors from all over the world to see the ice-covered falls.
The northeast has been in a spell of single-digits and even sub-zero temperatures over the past week, turning the face of the falls into a sheet of ice. Pictures of the frozen Niagara Falls have spread across social media, showing the winter wonderland created by the cold spell.
As USA Today noted, Niagara Falls has never completely frozen over, as nearly one million gallons spilling over the edge every minute are too powerful to bring to a stop, but the edge of rocks that surround the falls regularly get covered in sheets of ice that grow increasingly thick as they are spayed with more and more layers of mist from the falls.
Some pictures have fooled people into thinking the entire falls have frozen over. Back in 2014, viral pictures taken from the Canadian side of the falls made it appear that the entire face of the waterfall was covered in ice, but reports on the ground in Niagara Falls corrected the misconceptions.
The frozen falls have continued to draw tourists, even as the temperatures reach arctic levels. Visitors to Niagara Falls have been wowed by the beauty of the frozen cliffs, snapping pictures and video of the display.
“A lot of people see it in the summer, beautiful, but this is another kind of beauty, and we need to enjoy it,” Kevin McGowan, a Buffalo native who moved to Florida, told WCNC .
The WCNC report noted that there are visitors to Niagara Falls from all over the world. The images also attracted attention in media outlets, including India Today , which shared some pictures. News outlets from the U.K. and across the United States also shared images of the frozen Niagara Falls.
The Niagara Falls, which straddle the US-Canadian border, has frozen over due to the recent cold wave that has hit parts of North America. https://t.co/D1fcBL2x7n
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) December 30, 2017
There will be another unique view of the falls in a few years. There are plans to stop the flow of water entirely so repairs can be made to a bridge spanning the falls. The project will take place in 2019 at the earliest, CBC reported.
Those who want to see what it looks like when Niagara Falls is frozen, but aren’t able to travel to Western New York or southern Ontario can check out a live video from the Hilton Fallsview Hotel.