'Ice eggs' cover Finland beach in rare weather event
7 November 2019
Amateur photographer Risto Mattila was among those who came across the "ice eggs" on Hailuoto Island in the Gulf of Bothnia between Finland and Sweden.
Experts say it is caused by a rare process in which small pieces of ice are rolled over by wind and water.
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BBC Weather expert George Goodfellow said conditions needed to be cold and a bit windy for the ice balls to form.
"The general picture is that they form from pieces of larger ice sheet which then get jostled around by waves, making them rounder," he said.
"They can grow when sea water freezes on to their surfaces and this also helps to make them smoother. So the result is a ball of smooth ice which can then get deposited on to a beach, either blown there or getting left there when the tide goes out."
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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-50338447
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