HOLLAND, MI - Mother Nature’s lake-effect snow machine and this week’s plunging temperatures combined for the first time this year to create the perfect conditions for ice balls on the Great Lakes.

Thousands of these frozen mini-boulders began washing up on West Michigan beaches this week, drawing visitors and prompting people to share their photos on social media.

Holland State Park workers, who shared a handful of photos on Friday, are having a little fun with the phenomenon. But they also have a warning for gawkers.

“It’s cold as balls out here!," park staff wrote on Facebook. "Seriously, if you’re coming out to see the ice balls, please dress warm and be careful of snow-covered debris.”

Temperatures plummeted to single digits in some spots this week, and fell below zero in others. The National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids said that laid the groundwork for the balls to form, then roll ashore.

“Well, it took a while, but it finally got cold enough for ice balls to form on Lake Michigan this winter,” meteorologists there said. “These can usually be seen as early as late December and early January when temperatures fall into the teens and single digits. Heavy lake effect snow combines with the cold temperatures to form a layer of floating slush that wave action sculpts into spheres. These balls of ice then wash up on the beach by the thousands and freeze solid.”

Other floating fields of ice balls were spotted near Empire beaches in Leelanau County.

It’s cold as balls out here! Seriously, if you’re coming out to see the ice balls, please dress warm and be careful of snow covered debris. Posted by Holland State Park on Friday, February 14, 2020

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