The Maine Ice Disk Is Back!

The Westbrook, Maine ice disc is back on the Presumpscot
River. A similar ice disc caused a stir three years ago. 

 The famous, and very cool ice disk in a Maine river appears to be back.  

Officials in Westbrook, Maine Tuesday posted photos on Facebook of a thin disk of ice forming on the Presumpscot River during the cold snap that has afflicted New England, reports the Portland Press Herald. 

A large ice disc formed in the river at downtown Westbrook in January 2019, capturing international attention.

Ice disks, which are fairly rarely seen, result from a combination of river currents and circulations beneath the ice. As river ice starts to spin at these locations, they are shaped by other chunks of ice into perfect spheres.

The Westbrook disc in 2019, and the one forming now are larger than most ice disks.   The formation in 2019 also lasted an unusually long time - two weeks.  It captured international attention and became a tourist attraction, which boosted usually slow winter business in downtown Westbrook, the Press Herald noted. 

It's unclear how long the new Westbrook ice disc will last. It depends on whether there are thaws, or deeper freezes, or fluctuations in the levels of the Presumpscot River. 

As of Wednesday morning, the City of Westbrook reported in its Facebook page that the disc was still there, but had at least temporarily stopped rotating as a cold overnight apparently froze it to surrounding ice. 

Ice discs have been observed since at least the late 1800s.  They have been seen in Vermont from time to time, mostly recently on the Browns River in Jericho last winter.