Frozen in time: US lighthouse transformed into giant icicle after freezing storm

These stunning photographs were captured by U.S. photographer Thomas Zakowski, 56, on a trip to St Joseph, Michigan. Mr Zakowski, from South Bend, Indiana, said: 'The lighthouses were frozen solid by the waves that came crashing down against the pier. What made the photograph of one of them so interesting was the fact that the storm was so intense it uplifted the anchors of the scaffolding which had been left there after painting. It looks like a stairway in many ways and added a quality to the scene you will never see again.'

These frozen lighthouses in Michigan could easily be mistaken for a scene from the disaster movie The Day After Tomorrow.

Standing in temperatures well below freezing, the 30ft structures have been transformed into giant icicles.

These stunning photographs were captured by American photographer Thomas Zakowski, 56, on a trip to two cities in Michigan after a storm battered the state.

Entombed by the weather: This lighthouse in Michigan resembles a giant icicle after crashing waves were frozen around it by a severe winter storm

Picturesque: This lighthouse was captured in the city of St Joseph. The structures can remain frozen for over a month during particularly severe winters

Mr Zakowski, from South Bend, Indiana, said: 'The lighthouses were frozen solid by the waves that came crashing down against the pier.

'What made the photograph of one of them so interesting was the fact that the storm was so intense it uplifted the anchors of the scaffolding which had been left there after painting.

'It looks like a stairway in many ways and added a quality to the scene you will never see again.'

Every year, Thomas makes the trip to St Joseph and South Haven, both cities in Michigan, after a big storm to capture the resulting scenes.

Locked in time: The two lighthouses in the Michigan cities of St Joseph (left) and South Haven (right) were captured by American photographer Thomas Zakowski

'An event I look forward to very much': Every year, Mr Zakowski makes the trip to St Joseph and South Haven after a big storm to capture the resulting scenes

He said: 'Depending on the year, the lighthouses can remain freezing for over a month, but it all depends on the weather.

'Every year it's different, but it's an event I look forward to very much. To get there was a little tricky, as first you have to make your way out on the pier.

'It's like walking on an ice skating rink and at one point I have to duck walk past the first building in order to safely get to what I call the prize.

'Even though my photographs attract a lot of positive attention, that's not the main reason why I do it. I simply make the trek out there because the particular area fascinates me.'

Nature's beauty: The lighthouses and their piers were frozen solid by the waves that came crashing down and then froze

More than half of the continental U.S. is in the grip of a 'polar vortex' that has sent temperatures plunging to their coldest level in nearly 20 years.

As many as 140 million Americans are bracing themselves for dangerously cold start to the week, with some cities expecting temperatures of between -30C to -50C.

For a big chunk of the Midwest, the subzero temperatures were moving in behind another winter storm, creating more than a foot of snow and high winds that made traveling treacherous.