The Deep Freeze of 2026

It didn't take too long for a deep freeze to take hold in 2026, even if this was a couple of weeks behind the freezes of years past. Often the lighthouses of southern Lake Michigan would freeze up in December, but this year, things waited until bitter cold hit the area. Temperatures of -8° Fahrenheit (-22° Celsius) descended on the Great Lakes region on January 23, following several days of below freezing and windy weather. This weather system kicked up the Lake Michigan water into a spray of water that landed on anything along the shore, and almost instantly froze. This happens most every year, but depending upon the temperature, winds, and duration, some years are "better" than others. 2026 ranks up there among the better years, with plenty of thick, intricate ice formations.

For the past couple of decades, I've visited the Lake Michigan shore in all seasons, but especially in the winter, when the ice transforms the shoreline into a wonderland of interesting ice patterns. During the first few years, I was often alone on the shore, photographing the lighthouses, shelf ice, and dunes, and most times did not see a single person for miles. Then, a few years later when social media began taking hold, people began to flock to the shore to see these formations in person. It's about time people visited the beaches and dunes in winter - things here are awesome!

 
The outer lighthouse of the St. Joseph Michigan range lights is one of the most spectacular in winter. The absence of rip-rap rocks at the end of the pier, allows waves to crash into the pier, and the spray to land on the lighthouse, creating these ice-covered spectacles almost each winter. While a wonder to behold, they can be dangerous to explore, and one should take extreme caution when doing so - especially if they've never visited the area before ice was formed. One step in the wrong place can spell disaster, and an almost certain recovery by the Coast Guard.

To visit the outer light, one must pass by the inner lighthouse. Looking a lot like the lighthouse 40 miles to the west in Michigan City, Indiana, this lighthouse doesn't receive the same amount of ice buildup as it's outer lighthouse sister, but still is a wonder to view. Passing by this lighthouse can be dangerous in certain weather, specifically if the path is covered in smooth ice. The walkway between the side of the lighthouse and the drop into the lake is between 2 and 3 feet wide, with nothing to hold onto. A fall into the 33° F water can end things quickly, with almost no way to climb up the ice covered sides of the pier. On this day, the ice chunks thrown up onto the path allowed visitors to walk by in relative safety, with little danger of falling into the water.

The next few days of sub-zero weather can only make the lakeshore more and more interesting, and I plan on visiting many more times before the next thaw.