Hair ice is ‘something magical’ in this Washington photo. How does this ‘gift’ occur?
Hair ice formed in Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park, and it looks like “something magical,” social media users said.
A photo shows glittering ice crystals stretching across a wood log like hair, the national park shared in a Jan. 16 Facebook post.
It takes a few particular conditions for this “beautiful delicate gift” to appear.
A fungus called Exidiopsis effusa has to be present on a piece of decaying deciduous wood, park officials said.
Then the temperature, latitude and humidity all need to be just right so the fungus can create an antifreeze that forms ice crystals resembling hair, park officials said.
When moisture is released from the decaying wood, it freezes and creates hair ice, according to the Washington Trails Association.
“Nature is amazing!” one person commented on the Facebook post.
“We call them frost flowers in Arkansas,” another person wrote.
“What a beautiful delicate gift!” someone said.
This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Hair ice is ‘something magical’ in this Washington photo. How does this ‘gift’ occur?."
