
The Windy City might be known for its deep dish pizza, but an usual and different kind of circular-shaped phenomenon is currently taking over Lake Michigan.

The so-called 'snow pancakes' or circular ice sheets have started appearing along the shore of Chicago's iconic lake.

The lily pad-shaped ice forms first began appearing this week in a secluded bay near North Avenue Beach in the popular city that's currently experiencing sub-zero temperatures thanks to an arctic cold blast.

Captivating photos and videos of the lake show hundreds of rounded ice shapes that resemble flat pancakes across the water.

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The Windy City might be known for its deep dish pizza, but an usual and different kind of circular-shaped phenomenon is currently taking over Lake Michigan. 'Snow pancakes' or circular ice sheets have started appearing along the shore of Chicago's iconic lake

The lily pad-shaped ice forms first began appearing this week in a secluded bay near North Avenue Beach in the popular city that's currently experiencing sub-zero temperatures thanks to an arctic cold blast

Captivating photos and videos of the lake show hundreds of rounded ice shapes that resemble flat pancakes across the water. Experts say they're formed when sections of ice collide, their edges become rounded and raised

It doesn't look like the ice pancakes will disappear anytime soon as the frigid temperatures in Chicago are expected to last through the New Year and possibly longer

Experts say they're formed when sections of ice collide, their edges become rounded and raised.

The cool result of the contact is ice rounded into the shape of pancakes or lily pads.

They often meld together to form a sheet of ice pancakes, which is what appears to have happened in Chicago.

This feature is most common in the frigidly cold oceans around the world such as the Baltic Sea and Antarctica.

If the ice is thick enough, and the water is rough enough, the ice can fracture and bend to pile up on itself forming what are known as ice ridges, according to National Geographic.

The Midwest and Northeast are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures with sub-zero arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills

Other parts of the lake are also experiencing weird softball-sized ice shapes form in the water

The brutal cold front is currently clobbering several states with many of the temperatures only reaching a high in the 20s and lows in the single digits well below the freezing point. Above the icy shoreline at North Avenue Beach is pictured on Wednesday

It doesn't look like the ice pancakes will disappear anytime soon as the frigid temperatures in Chicago are expected to last through the New Year and possibly longer.

The high for Wednesday in the Windy City was 9 degrees Fahrenheit, and it will drop to a low of five degrees when the sun goes down at night.

The Midwest and Northeast are experiencing bitterly cold temperatures with sub-zero arctic air and dangerously cold wind chills.

The brutal cold front is currently clobbering several states with many of the temperatures only reaching a high in the 20s and lows in the single digits well below the freezing point.

Above people go for a run near North Avenue Beach in Chicago on Wednesday

Above a bicyclist navigates along the lakefront despite single-digit temperatures on Wednesday

Wind chill advisories or warnings are in effect for all of North Dakota and Wisconsin, as well as swaths of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois Michigan and Indiana. Above a man runs near North Avenue Beach on Wednesday

Wind chill advisories or warnings are in effect for all of North Dakota and Wisconsin, as well as swaths of South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois Michigan and Indiana.

In addition, wind chill advisories are also in effect for parts of Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire and New York.

For revelers hitting the town on New Year's Eve in Chicago, the temperature during the day will be a high of 17 degrees with a low of negative three when the clock strikes 12 ushering in 2018.