How a Hamburg, New York, Car Became a Popsicle

On the northeastern shore of Lake Erie sits a restaurant and a parking lot that has become a temporary resting place for cars that have been frozen to the ground during winter storms.

It happened again on Sunday, when a group of friends gathered to watch the NFL postseason games at Hoak's Lakeshore Restaurant in Hamburg, New York. Bartender C.J. McDonnell told weather.com that one of the friends, a young man, was shocked to go outside and see his vehicle turned into a big ice cube. After making the discovery, the young man went back inside the restaurant, where he was teased by his friends and even his mother for leaving the car in the path of frozen, wind-blown sea spray, McDonnell also said.

"It's definitely happened before," McDonnell told weather.com, adding that the entire lake-facing façade of the 67-year-old restaurant remained encased in ice, like the car, on Monday afternoon.

(MORE: Lake-Effect Snow Closes Highway, Travel Discouraged)

Weather Underground data backs up McDonnell's claims; in the town south of Buffalo, temperatures were about 48 degrees at the time the 1 p.m. NFL game started, and by the time it ended, they hovered just above freezing. During the evening game, temperatures fell into the 20s and winds gusted as high as 50 mph. Mother Nature had all the necessary ingredients to turn cars into popsicles in the Hoak's parking lot.

Predictably, the car remains in the Hoak's parking lot as of Monday afternoon, frozen to the ground. Considering it's coated in ice three to four inches thick, McDonnell added, it's not likely to be freed from the lake's icy grip for days.

Luckily, the driver was able to get a ride home from the restaurant from a friend after the games ended. And if you're wondering if all that ice and snow was enough to close the lakefront eatery, McDonnell said not a chance – they were open for business as usual on Monday.

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