As someone who was born and raised in the tropical paradise of Puerto Rico, I've never been fond of the winter. My partner, friends, coworkers, and even the nice cashier lady at my neighborhood's liquor store can attest to this.
But a new viral photo of a house that looks like it's the North American vacation spot of Elsa from Frozen is reaaally making me thank the universe that my winters in New York City haven't been that bad.
The picture shows a house completely encased in ice. Entirely. As you might expect, it's going viral because it's a reminder that nature is as beautiful as it is terrifying. And maybe also because the image looks like it's photoshopped. But no, it's real — and it's really hard to look away from.
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Photographer John Kucko stumbled upon the scene in the area of Webster, NY, just outside of Rochester. Webster is one of the snowiest places in the entire country, thanks to a combination of freezing winter temperatures and proximity to the Great Lakes.
He told CNN that there's been some awful weather in the area over the past couple of days. The structure is actually a remote beach house, sitting only about 25 feet away from Lake Ontario.
So the frozen house wasn't actually hit with Elsa's icy powers, but something much more mundane: moisture from the nearby lake, high wind gusts, and freezing temperatures. In the words of Breaking Bad's Jesse Pinkman: "Yeah, science!"
"We had violent winds here the last five days," Kucko told CNN. "Power was knocked out to 150,000 people. Some are still without power."
The end result may look magical or frightening, depending on who you ask. But one thing's for sure: This picture has not been edited.
Still don't believe me? Check out the video below.
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