Well we have had some snow at last, but not deep enough to be measured and it was gone within 12 hours.
Yesterday morning was very cold and we had an unusual sight in the garden. in fact something we had never seen before.
Yesterday morning was very cold and we had an unusual sight in the garden. in fact something we had never seen before.
Bird bath with a upward icicle
 |
| 9-10 inches long |
With nothing but ice inside
It can't have been formed from drips from the tree on the left that is over 4 feet away.
Our leaning 'tower' of ice survived for nearly eight hours, slowly melting away.
Carmi's request for us to post something cold at Thematic-photographic-366. couldn't have been better timed.
And we have been left wondering how our icicle came about.
Next day the Weather Eye column in the Times explained how ice spikes like ours are formed.
Basically its created by the expansion of ice, by about 8%, when it freezes. A sheet of ice on a pool like a bird bath spreads from the sides towards the centre, until only a small hole is left on the frozen surface.
Ice starting to form below the hole can push water up, forming a hollow spike of ice, rather like a straw. As more water is pushed up the 'straw', it freezes round the rim at the top - and so the spike grows longer. Eventually the whole tube of water freezes, leaving the pinnacle of ice standing up like a spike.
Next day the Weather Eye column in the Times explained how ice spikes like ours are formed.
Basically its created by the expansion of ice, by about 8%, when it freezes. A sheet of ice on a pool like a bird bath spreads from the sides towards the centre, until only a small hole is left on the frozen surface.
Ice starting to form below the hole can push water up, forming a hollow spike of ice, rather like a straw. As more water is pushed up the 'straw', it freezes round the rim at the top - and so the spike grows longer. Eventually the whole tube of water freezes, leaving the pinnacle of ice standing up like a spike.
