"Hair-Ice" allegedly rare

[Willcurrie]

My eye was caught by this article from the BBC. I see this commonly in frost weather and was surprised to find someone saying it's rare. Is this more common in my region, West of Scotland, or do you folks see it often too?

 

[Shewie]

I've only ever seen it a couple of times, once on some dead oak leaves and the other coming out of the top of a fence post

 

[delbach]

The first time I saw it I thought it was some kind of fungus

 

[Goatboy]

Slightly less common now most folk have to pick up their dog poo, forms on it readily.
Get it quite a bit in East Scotland due to the cold dry in.winter.
Pretty cool stuff.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.

 

[quietone]

So is it a fungi? Surely the fungi is the real star here?

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[ged]

So is it a fungi? ...

No, read the BBC article linked in the OP.

 

[quietone]

I did. The strange, candy floss look is caused by a fungus called exidiopsis effusa. If it wasn't for the fungi and its structure, the ice wouldn't form.

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[David LaFerney]

I've never seen anything quite like that, but frost is cool...

That was on my cold frame a few winters back. When it is cold enough for such things most people consider dashing from the door to the car as being outside - and probably never see them.

 

[Scots_Charles_River]

See it a lot in East Central Scotland in gardens or when out. Also, frost heaving of damp ground is cool (literally).

 

[Robson Valley]

Frost feathers on a glass window is literally cool. Not at all funny after 2 weeks.
Local guy here has figured out how to freeze water, bubble free.
In the summer, he uses the ice as a camera lens for some quite dramatic photography.

 

[Goatboy]

Frost feathers on a glass window is literally cool. Not at all funny after 2 weeks.
Local guy here has figured out how to freeze water, bubble free.
In the summer, he uses the ice as a camera lens for some quite dramatic photography.

Don't you boil the water for a while to drive off dissolved gas? A lot of folk doing ice sculptures use that method to obtain clear ice.
A couple of years back it was hovering at -20° for a week and the pipes were frozen in the ground. Had to light a fire in a drum over the pipe outside the house to thaw it out. Did mean that I had no water for anything for over a week. Houses here aren't built for that amount of prolonged cold.

Sent via smoke-signal from a woodland in Scotland.