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Winter Weather: Drum Pictures of Texas Cities Covered with Snow
A record-breaking winter storm continues to pour snow over the state of Texas.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
The claim: Image shows boats in Texas covered with ice mirrors
While a severe winter storm swept across large parts of the southern and central United States and left millions without people, a viral image appeared on social media pretending that boats were displayed at a Texas marina under frozen sheets of ice.
The photo of the ice-covered boats went viral in a February 15 message with more than 4,600 shares in which a Facebook user wrote: ‘Taken by a friend in Kemah, TX today. Okay. I was told it was Kemah. Maybe not. We still had snow on the beach in Galveston, TX nearby. Ice cones all over Texas! “
USA TODAY released the user behind the post for comment.
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Photo from 2005 in Switzerland
As noted by users in the comments of the reports, the image of the boats covered with ice spikes is genuine, but it was taken at Lake Léman in Geneva, Switzerland, not Texas.
A reverse Google image search shows that the photo was taken in January 2005 by Swiss photographer Jean-Pierre Scherrer and posted on PBase.com, an online photo-sharing site.
A photo gallery published by Scherrer shows similar scenes from the aftermath of the Geneva ice storm, featuring images of frozen cars, trees and benches. He noted that the statues were shot in Switzerland, and not in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
“After a fusion of intense cold (-10 to -18 degrees Celsius) plus very strong winds blowing more than 100 kmh (70 mph), the waves became so hard that it moved over the dike and the drops immediately everything froze touched! “Scherrer wrote along with his photos.
In a comment below the photo gallery, Scherrer said that having lived in Geneva for more than 60 years, he had never seen anything like it.
“I remember seeing the lake next to the more frozen one in 1956, and even partially freezing the lake itself (when I went ice skating on it!),” He writes. “BUT, this phenomenon of strong winds – in the right direction – PLUS very low temperatures seems to be quite rare!”
Scherrer’s photos earlier went viral along with false allegations that the images were taken in Chicago. Hoax-Slayer reported in 2019 that the photos are authentic rumors that they were taken in the United States.
Coastal Areas in Texas Closed
Authentic photos of boats in Texas not covered in ice were recently shared on Facebook by the Kemah Boardwalk Marina.
“Although the sun came out in Kemah, icy conditions did not improve, with temperatures still in their mid – 20s and expected to drop overnight in their teens,” Kemah Boardwalk Marina wrote on February 15. Docks and ramps still remain extremely slippery and access is still not recommended. The temperature is predicted to freeze tomorrow afternoon.
Due to icy weather conditions and in an effort to protect wildlife and resources, many saltwater fishing spots and cages along the Texas coast have been closed, according to KSAT.com.
At the end of Wednesday, 3 million customers were left without power in Texas and much of eastern Texas was under a winter storm warning in anticipation of the next round of snow and ice, USA reported TODAY.
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Our rating: false
An image claiming frozen boats are displayed in Texas during a winter storm is FALSE, based on our research. The photo was taken in January 2005 in Geneva, Switzerland, during an ice storm where the wind was at 70 km / h. Similar images of the Swiss ice storm have been misused and exposed in previous years. Authentic photos of boats in Texas taken during the storm show that it was not frozen with ice.
Our sources for fact checking:
- PBase.com, January 29, 2005, Ice Storm over Geneva, Switzerland
- PBase.com, January 29, 2005, Ice Storm over Geneva, Switzerland gallery
- WUSA9, January 31, 2019, “VERIFY: cars trapped under frozen tundra-like scene in Chicago legit?”
- Hoax-Slayer, January 22, 2019, “Léman Lake Switzerland Ice Storm Photographer”
- Kemah Boardwalk Marina, February 15, Facebook Post
- KSAT.com, February 14, “These fishing spots off the South Texas coast will be temporarily closed due to icy weather”
- USA TODAY, February 16, “‘Another snow / ice producer’ is on the way as the US suffers a brutal explosion of winter weather blamed for at least 20 deaths”
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