Extreme cold has turned Niagara Falls into an icy winter wonderland
Parts of Niagara Falls are starting to freeze, giving that massive cloud of cold air in our region a wee silver lining. The area around the Falls always looks incredible when the mist freezes in the winter, but this year the show is particularly epic.
Yesterday was the coldest Jan. 1 on record in the Niagara Falls region, according to meteorologists, but the waterfalls already looked frosty near the end of 2017 after an extended stretch of extreme weather.
Photos from both sides of the famous Canadian / American waterfalls show what people are calling a "frozen paradise" or "winter wonderland."
Ice and snow have now blanketed much of what can be seen around the falls today, creating something that looks more like a Game of Thrones set than a Canadian tourist attraction.
Gigantic icicles can be seen hanging from rocks like stalactites around the waterfalls, and trees that happen to be anywhere near the natural wonder are coated with icy water droplets.
But don't let the thick mist or relative quiet fool you; the falls are still very much moving under all that ice.
Niagara falls hasn't actually frozen over – as in stopped flowing – since 1848, when an ice jam blocked the water's source upriver.
Chilly as it's been outside in recent weeks, it would take quite a bit of cold to stop 3,160 tons of water from going over Niagara Falls every second.
They don't call it a natural world wonder for nothing.
