Thursday, January 5, 2017

Notes from the North: Snow and Ice

It's been icy cold in the far northlands, with temperatures hovering not too far above zero for several days. The snow isn't really all that deep, only 8 inches in the back yard, but it's covering everything and hanging fairly heavy on the trees.
Snow on black spruce.
Looking upward, we can see ice crystals frozen on to the needles.
It was about 3°F when I was out taking these photos.
Brr!
Ice crystals on the twigs of a deciduous tree.
Ice is a mineral of the hexagonal crystal system. The crystals in this photo consist mostly of needles and plates, probably a combination of of soft rime ice and hoarfrost.

I'm hoping for some sun today so I can take more photos of the ice-laden trees.

2 comments:

Tony Edger said...

Fun to see both evergreen and deciduous trees coping, in their very different ways, with the same cold, snowy, often dark, winter.

Silver Fox said...

Often dark, for sure!