Rare phenomenon creates thousands of giant snowballs on Russian beach
The snowballs were formed after a rare weather event.
A rare weather event has caused thousands of natural snowballs to form on a beach in Russia.
Locals in the village of Nyda, in northern Russia, were reportedly stunned when saw an 18km stretch of beach full of icy spheres that were up to 1m across in size, The BBC reports.
The snowballs are reportedly a result of a "rare environmental process" where small pieces of ice form and are then rolled by wind and water.
"As a rule, first there is a primary natural phenomenon – sludge ice, slob ice,” the press secretary of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, Sergei Lisenkov, said on local television.
"Then comes a combination of the effects of the wind, the lay of the coastline, and the temperature and wind conditions," he added.
"It can be such an original combination that it results in the formation of balls like these."
Surprised residents, who reportedly said they’ve never seen anything like it, turned up to the beach to take photos with the large pieces of ice.
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