After a chilly few weeks, the weather is warming up and is contributing to some spectacular sights on Minnesota's lakes.

Reader Michele Munson sent in a selection of snaps she took while out on Gull Lake over the weekend, when she spotted several ice heaves that have resulted in spectacular shapes and colors on the east side of the lake.

"We were snowmobiling and saw this ice crawling up the shore so I climbed over and got some pics from the shore," she told us.

Ice heaves are caused by changing temperatures that cause ice to contract and expand. When temperatures are falling, the ice contracts and cracks, causing fissures that fill with water and then re-freeze.

When it warms up, the ice expands, but as it has nowhere to go, it pushes upwards and outwards. These heaves can thrust toward the shore, bringing soil with it to create ice ridges, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Ice ridges are known to cause damage to lakeside property, as was particularly the case on Lake Mille Lacs in 2013, when a spectacular heave was captured on video as it engulfed properties.

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Do you have any photos of some eye-catching ice heaving? Share them with us on Facebook, or by sending them to contact@bringmethenews.com.