A local celebrity has made a triumphant return to the shores of Westbrook: The famed ice disk that first spun in the Presumpscot River in 2019 has begun to reform, the city announced Tuesday. 

The large circle of river ice, the width of a football field with a moon-like texture, appears to have frozen in roughly the same place as it did three years ago in late January. 

That first iteration of the enigmatic ice floe lasted about two weeks, attracting a flurry of global attention. The disk stopped spinning as temperatures fell, then melted away as conditions grew mild and rainy soon after. 

City officials sounded giddy in heralding the disk’s return this year. Posts on the city Facebook page Tuesday included the hashtag #icedisk2022 and a montage of aerial views of the phenomenon set to the dramatic theme music from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” 

Online commenters said they were excited to try and see the disk in person. Local businesses said it was an economic boon in 2019 and offered a variety of ice disk-themed specials.