Winter Storm

Lake Ontario Waves, Winds Turn Beach House Into 'Ice House' in Upstate New York

At a Glance

Lakefront houses along the eastern shores of Lake Ontario have become coated in thick ice.
High winds pushed battering waves ashore, which then froze in the cold temperatures.
The amount of damage to these houses is not yet known.

Battering waves and high winds on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario earlier this week turned a lakefront house in upstate New York into an ice sculpture.

The house has been used as a summer camp in Maureen Whelan's family for the past 85 years, she told weather.com. She shares it with her brother and sister in Ramona Beach, New York, some 40 miles north of Syracuse.

"None of us have ever seen anything like this," said Whelan.

Maureen Whelan's lakefront house on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario in Ramona Beach, New York, is caked in blocks of thick ice Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019.
(Natalie Kucko/WWNY-TV)

Wind gusts of 70 to 80 mph and waves of 20 to 30 feet were reported along Lake Ontario's eastern shores Monday morning due to Winter Storm Quiana. Those high winds pushed the battering waves ashore, where the water quickly turned into ice with air temperatures in the 20s.

Whelan said the camp is about 50 feet from the lakeshore, with a seawall about 30 feet from the house. The waves were large enough to crash right over that seawall and engulf the house.

"I've never seen the waves that big," said Whelan. "The waves just kept splashing and freezing up."

She said most of this happened Sunday night and Monday. When she arrived at the camp about 10 a.m. Monday morning, Whelan said the winds were so strong she couldn't even get to the front of the camp.

Maureen Whelan's lakefront property on the eastern shores of Lake Ontario in Ramona Beach, New York, is caked in blocks of thick ice Monday, Feb. 25, 2019.
(Maureen Whelan)

She's concerned about what a thaw will bring. It appears the ice is at least 3- or 4-feet thick, which will be a lot of water when it finally melts.

"We're very nervous about our poor camp because we have no idea the damage it's going to cause, both structural damage and water damage," said Whelan. "Whether it's a slow thaw or a quick thaw, it's all going to flow toward the house."

Berta Smith, a lifelong friend of Whelan's, said her family home of 50 years is five houses down from Whelan's and also became caked in feet of ice.

"My heart is broken to see my childhood home of 50 years might have to be torn down," said Smith. "I lived there year-round for 20 years before we were seasonal and never had this happen."

Both Whelan and Smith believe Lake Ontario's high water levels may have played a role in their so-called "ice houses." Lake levels are running about a foot higher than average for this time of year, according to NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

"It was my lifetime home and the lake levels are going to ruin all these beautiful homes," said Smith.

The photo below shows how Whelan's camp typically looks when it's not engulfed in ice.