Niagara Falls Is Experiencing Its Frozen Falls Effect-Here's How to See the Icy Spectacle

"When the Niagara Falls become the Frozen Falls, icicles dangle off the edge of the cliffs and clouds of frozen mist bathe the scene in a filmy white. Anything in the path of the mist is coated in ice and a frozen bridge forms over the Lower Niagara River. The result is a frozen fairytale-like scene. And while the falls don't completely freeze over due to the kinetic energy created by the flowing water, they did once (more on that below)."

"The Frozen Falls effect happens when there is decreased waterflow-in the winter, 75 percent of the water that feeds the falls from Lake Erie is diverted to hydro-electric stations-and below-freezing temperatures. Temperatures in the teens and single digits have been the norm at Niagara Falls for much of January and February, and the Niagara Falls website notes that they are expecting the temperature to drop to -1-degrees-Fahrenheit this coming weekend."

An intense East Coast winter has reduced water volume and produced iconic 'Frozen Falls' at Niagara. Icicles hang from cliffs, frozen mist coats surfaces and a frozen bridge can form over the Lower Niagara River, creating a fairytale-like scene. The falls normally resist complete freezing because flowing water's kinetic energy maintains movement. Reduced winter flow, partly because 75 percent of water from Lake Erie is diverted to hydro-electric stations, combined with prolonged below-freezing temperatures causes the effect. Typical January and February temperatures have been in the teens and single digits, with forecasts dropping to -1°F. The falls fully froze only once, in March 1848, for 30 hours.

Read at Travel + Leisure