Clouds of the Day - Sunday, January 3, 2021

Hoar frost coated trees, power lines, and fences with a fuzzy layer of white. Hoar frost consists of hair-like ice crystals that form in freezing fog and light winds. The crystals form on objects that are below freezing as water vapor condenses directly into ice crystals. Tree branches make an excellent base for the crystals to form and increase in thickness. Temperatures were in the teens when the freezing fog deposited the crystals.

THese trees were back-lit by the morning sun in the southeastern sky. Fog had lifted and is visible as a layer of stratus cloud in the background. Below are photos of hoar frost that formed on trees.

Hoar Frost

Picuresque Hoar Frost. Stratus is seen in the background.

Hoar Frost with stratus formed from fog.

Hoar frost on a wire