I am thinking hot and cold mixing. I am also thinking you will see more and more as the ice melts at a faster rate. So think of it like a water tornado. So instead of hot and cold air mixing to make a tornado, it's hot and cold water mixing to make a whirlpool.
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Whirlpools in a lake are typically formed by the interaction of strong currents, wind, and underwater topography. When different water temperatures or densities meet, it can create swirling motions. Sudden changes in water flow or submerged obstacles can also create whirlpools.
Whirlpools are unlikely to occur in natural lakes. But in hydropower reservoirs there are certain currents, especially near dams where penstock intakes and spillways are located. Those currents are often strong, almost complete hidden and extremely dangerous, lurking several feet under the surface at submerged intakes. Beware of eddies and whirlpools at the surface! Because when they show up - there is always a current and strong suction below! Some reservoirs look like - and are from the beginning - natural lakes, equipped with a blasted lake tap, which means that there is a submerged drain located at the bottom of the lake, connected to a headrace tunnel below, leading huge amounts of water to the turbines of an underground powerhouse. Those drains, or bottom intakes, are extremely hazardous because of their hidden location, often at far distance from eventually existing dam buildings or other visible power generating infrastructure. Watch out for warning signs, buoys and, of course, turbulent surfice!
Irregularities in basin and channel bottoms usually cause whirlpools in rivers and lakes.
Some famous natural whirlpools include Saltstraumen in Norway, the Corryvreckan in Scotland, and the Naruto whirlpools in Japan. These whirlpools are known for their powerful currents and swirling waters, which attract visitors and researchers interested in their natural phenomena.
The plain answer is that they end when they run out of energy. So they simply stop then. But there are all kinds of whirlpools caused by all kinds of things. Which means there are all kinds of ways whirlpools can get and lose their energies. For example, there are whirlpools in your bathroom sink when you open the drain. They stop when the water is gone from the sink and so there is no longer a force of gravity acting on water to cause the whirlpools. There are whirlpools in the wake of a ship. They're called eddies, but they are still whirlpools. They stop when the ship stops because they were getting their energies from the ship's motion. Similarly there are whirlpools in running streams and rivers, they might stop if there is a change in flow or the river runs dry. So there you are. Whirlpools stop when they run out of energy.
in warm water
No. A lake is not nearly big enough.
A river can create meanders (bends) which can form a separate lake known as an oxbow lake.