Weather bomb causes 'ice pancakes' to form on Scottish river

Weather bomb causes spectacular 'ice pancakes' to form on river

Freezing weather in Scotland has caused unusual "ice pancakes" to form on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire.

The strange formations look like a fleet of flying saucers floating in the river.

According to the Mirror, the phenomenon is thought to occur when foam floating on the water's surface starts to freeze and bump together. As more foam appears, the pancakes grow bigger.

The spectacular winter scene is more commonly seen in the Antarctic.

Joanna Dick, from The River Dee Trust, said: "Bits of frozen foam got swirled around in an eddy, and became roughly circular.

"Perhaps each disc grew when smaller pieces of unfrozen foam struck the disc, adhered and then froze in place."

The unusual "ice pancakes" formed on the Scottish river overnight after the UK was hit by a 'weather bomb'.

Joanna added: "This is the first time we have seen them on the River Dee.

"They are a rare occurrence and conditions have to be right for them to form."