Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
Have you ever walked out the door into a winter wonderland? Picture beautiful pure white fluffy snow covering the ground, and a sparkling layer of frosty white covering every surface and clinging onto every nook and cranny, no matter how small. You can’t help but stop and stare in awe as this beautiful winter scene that takes your breath away. You might be familiar with the term Hoar Frost, but have you heard of Rime Ice? These two frosty scenes look similar but are formed differently. Hoar Frost goes straight from gas to solid (ice crystals) while Rime Ice goes from supercooled liquid to solid (ice crystals). It can be hard to tell if it is Hoar Frost or Rime Ice just by looking but looking at the weather when it was formed can help to figure out what type of winter beauty it really is. Hoar Frost Hoar in Old English means “showing signs of old age.” The trees look like they had white beards when they were covered in hoar frost, making them appear old. Hoar Frost is similar to dew. Water vapor in the air skips the liquid state and freezes directly to surfaces as a gas. The ice crystals attach to grass, leaves, branches and more. Hoar Frost forms when water vapor (gas) freezes onto a surface that is 32°F or below, skipping the liquid phase. Hoar Frost is formed on calm, clear, cold nights. Clouds provide insulation, so on clear nights the temperature can drop quickly. Rime Ice There are two types of Rime Ice, soft and hard. Rime Ice forms when supercooled water droplets (liquid) in the air freeze on contact with surfaces that are 32°F or lower. The liquid freezes instantly on contact. Soft Rime Ice is not as thick and can look fragile. Individual spikes are visible. Soft Rime Ice is formed when there is freezing fog with calm to no wind. Hard Rime Ice is more dense. It is formed when there is freezing fog with high wind speeds and a temperature between 17-28°F.
2 Comments
Lonnie Hebl
1/21/2021 11:32:35 am
Meg, I believe we had both of the phenoms recently here in MN. Cool Blog. Lon
Reply
John Weiss
1/21/2021 11:42:41 am
Megan. How about ice that forms underwater when it really gets cold. I’ve run into that fishing. Nasty stuff. Frazil ice I believe.
Reply
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