Ticker for January 30, 2003

                
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January 30, 2003   January 30, 2003   January 30, 2003   January 30, 2003


Morning Frost Graces Much of Oklahoma

Those of you who commuted from, say, Tonkawa to, say, Norman this
morning noticed a winter wonderland of tree-borne frost the whole way,
except for a clear patch around Logan County (Guthrie-ites missed
out!).  This morning's frost was more than just pretty - it was
pretty interesting!

Super-cooled water droplets (i.e., fog) borne on light southerly winds
encountered sub-freezing objects, and the resulting deposit was a pretty
crystalline frost.  This picture from mid-morning shows one example:



Notice that the near-surface branches are frost-free, as were trees
near buildings and over paved surfaces:

However, a closer look at single trees revealed that only the southern
facing parts got frosted, indicating the importance of the continuous
presentation of tiny water droplets by the winds:



It's not the massive riming that you might see at Mount Washington,
or the enchanting pogonip of the west, but it's uncommon enough in
our state that it deserves to be appreciated!

Thanks to OCS's Billy McPherson for pointing out that only one side
of our trees were getting rimed.  The entire Ticker staff lives south
of the Ticker Building, and saw only the south side of trees on the
drive to work: we thought everything was icy!