Stunning Lake Michigan shelf ice brings beauty and danger to the shoreline

CHICAGO - As temperatures plunge, Lake Michigan's shoreline is transforming into a winter wonderland, with shelf ice forming near areas like Montrose Beach.

While the icy formations are striking to see, experts are urging Chicagoans to keep a safe distance, emphasizing the dangers they pose.

"An ice shelf is an attractive nuisance. It's an ice formed along the shoreline and looks can be deceiving," said Dave Benjamin with Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project. "So water safety is not common sense and people just don't know what they're doing."

He wants to remind everyone that there is still water under the seemingly frozen top layer.

"Right along the shoreline, it might be solid, but there's going to be air pockets in it because of the way it forms, and there's going to be instability in it because over time, you know, wind and waves will break it up and then it'll refreeze and then it's refreezing as fragments, and then there's water moving underneath it as well," said Benjamin.

FOX 32 drone footage captured the growing shelf ice on Thursday, which are expected to expand as winter continues. However, some people were seen running across the fragile ice—a risky activity that could lead to serious accidents.

The warning comes with a scary reminder: three years ago, a young man ventured more than 1,000 feet onto the frozen lake at Promontory Point. He never fell in, but Benjamin said you don't know when the ice could start to break.

Experts stress that snow-covered ice adds another layer of danger, making it nearly impossible to tell where the shoreline ends and the lake begins.

Benjamin advises staying on solid ground and avoiding the ice altogether.

Admire the icy beauty from a distance and remember, no ice is safe ice.