Did You Know That Rime Ice Makes Those Awesome Formations on Mount Washington?

Since moving here a few years ago I have learned a lot of interesting things. One of the most interesting is the formation of rime ice.

I have often looked in wonder at the way ice is formed on buildings in pictures from atop Mount Washington, but I never knew there was a name for it.

I saw an article about some photos of rime ice at Only In Your State New Hampshire, and it made me want to find out more.

According to the National Weather Service, rime ice is "an opaque coating of tiny, white, granular ice particles caused by the rapid freezing of supercooled water droplets on impact with an object. See also clear ice."

Today.com states that rime ice can often look spiky and it requires a perfect set of conditions to form.

And how amazing do the formations look when rime ice forms?

They are especially evident on top of Mount Washington, and the Mount Washington Observatory often posts plenty of photos and videos that show that off.

And with temps so cold, the rime ice sticks around for a good while.

In fact, in a WMUR article from 2015, a meteorologist and co-director of summit operations at the Mount Washington Observatory said that rime ice forms when "the mountain is in the clouds and temperatures are below freezing."

Seriously how amazing is that!? Take a look at some more cool pics of rime ice from the Mount Washington Observatory's Facebook page.