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Understanding where 'freezing fog' comes from
A rather dense area of freezing fog shrouded nearly all of Northeast Kansas on Tuesday morning. That left much of south facing trees coated in a white frost-like ice.
The wind was light, but out of the south, while the fog moved through. That south wind allowed for south-facing trees and surfaces to coat with a very loose riming of ice.
Loose ice allows for air to be essentially "trapped" within the ice structure, giving it a white appearance rather than a glazing of ice, which is clear.
This reminded me of a word that is rarely used. Hoarfrost. It is a very thick, very loose frost that appears very much like what this morning's freezing fog looked like. It's formed on clear, very cold nights where a thick, but loose frost forms on exposed objects.
Again, that's not what we had this morning. It was a true freezing fog. Whatever you call it, it was a beautiful scene across our corner of the state this morning.
Comments
markdunn 13 years, 2 months ago
It was awesome, whatever you call it.
I'm going to use the word hoarfrost every chance I get.
jmyrick 13 years, 2 months ago
You're too funny, Mark. I'd actually heard that term years ago, but had forgotten about it. I've added it back into my vocabulary.
I really liked this blog because I had noticed the frost yesterday, too. I like to learn new weather stuff.
And be careful how/when/where you use hoarfrost, dude.
markdunn 13 years, 2 months ago
More hoarfrost this morning!
jmyrick 13 years, 2 months ago
Dude, that was freezing fog again. I know you just want to use that word. I like it, too. Hoarfrost. Sure wish we'd get some hoarfrost.
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