iN VIDEO: Massive revolving ice disk on South Thompson River in Kamloops

An ice disk has formed on the South Thompson River in Kamloops and the large, slowly revolving disk is caused by very specific weather and river conditions.

Environment Canada meteorologist Matt MacDonald says the phenomenon is quite rare.

“Speaking with colleagues in Manitoba who had a little more experience with river ice, they tell us that they’re what we call ice disks,” MacDonald says. “They require really a perfect set of weather conditions and river flow to materialize.”

MacDonald says the cold snap last week caused the river to solidify, and as the temperature warmed up, a section of the ice broke off.

“Eddies in the water create these rotating gyres of water and from what I understand, a chunk of ice breaks off and it spins off on its own and it grinds into the ice around it, and it forms into this very nice looking circle.”

If you're in the Kamloops area, you can check out the disk by taking a short hike along the Jack Gregson trail. It's across from the Tk’emlups powwow grounds.

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Jenna Wheeler

Jenna Wheeler is a writer at heart. She has always been naturally curious about what matters to the people in her community. That’s why it was an obvious decision to study journalism at Durham College, where she enjoyed being an editor for the student newspaper, The Chronicle. She has since travelled across Canada, living in small towns in the Rockies, the Coast Mountains, and tried out the big city experience. She is passionate about sustainability, mental health, and the arts. When she’s not reporting, she’s likely holed up with a good book and her cat Ace.

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