Residents along Lake Erie in Hamburg, New York woke up to a winter nightmare this weekend, when they found their houses completely covered in thick ice.
A powerful storm brought the blizzard to western New York last week, and created the winter nightmare that seems straight out of the Disney movie, “Frozen.”
Then came two days of strong winds after temperature dropped below freezing on Wednesday, and heavy waves blew Lake Erie’s water ashore.
Resident Ed Mis, who had lived in Hamburg for the past eight years, said in an interview that they have seen ice coatings before, but this weekend is the worst they have experienced.
“It’s dark on the inside of my house. It can be a little eerie, a little frightening,” he said, “It looks fake, it looks unreal.”
“I actually had to go out a secondary door and then chisel my way back into the house by breaking the ice,” he added.
Homeowner Lise Kreuder said that she has not seen this condition since the 1970s, and hopes that the Hoover Beach area gets a breakwater in the near future.
“My garage floor is started to show cracks,” she said, “Last night we took in a small amount of water.”
While the sight is remarkable and seemed to be straight out of fairy tale, the residents worry that the ice may cause structural damage to their properties.
Mis added, “We’re worried about the integrity, of structure failure when it starts to melt, because of the weight on the roof.”
Winter weather expert Tom Niziol told the Weather Channel, “When you are down in the low to mid-20s, all of that spray that comes up and hits the buildings is going to freeze and make it a giant icicle.”
The Hamburg town supervisor announced that the town would apply for FEMA funds in 2020, which aims to fund a break wall or any protective measures for the neighborhood.