And this time the white is not snow
So we have had a thaw. With a thaw comes the interesting phenomenon of freezing fog: hoarfrost. We woke up this morning to see beautiful frozen ice crystals hanging on all available surfaces.
We kind of knew this was coming. Last night, on returning home from dinner, we saw the fog in some areas. We even drove under it in some places (a very fun trick).
It is still chilly out there, and still foggy; it should last at least until noon.
3 comments:
where does the term hoarfrost come from?
Oooh... so pretty.
Meresy_g got me to google "Hoar frost" and the wikipedia entry is pretty interesting. It's similar to the ice that gathers on the edges of old freezers, and is a common cause of avalanches because subsequent snows don't bond well to its ice structure. No clues on the name, but I would guess that it comes from its "hoary"/fuzzy looks?
Thanks for doing my work for me, Kim! I haven't found the exact etymology of the word "hoar" but I would bet it's old English or German. Sounds like it, though.
The interesting thing I read about hoarfrost (also hoar frost) is it is the winter answer to summer dew. Too much moisture in the air. And surprisingly, when the dew is up here, the same places where we drove under the fog the other night are the same places we drove under the dew. (There are a lot of fields and orchards and vineyards out here in the country with some wacky topography.)
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