Physics Photo of the Week

  January 26, 2024        "Rimey" Craggy s     A recent cold weather weekend (Jan 19-21, 2024) had temperatures at Warren Wilson College dip into the single digits.  January 19 was cloudy and snowy all day although very little accumulation occurred.  Clear weather on Saturday, January 20 revealed the Great Craggy Mountains that overlook Warren Wilson College were coated with rime ice from the overnight winter storm. The center of the upper photo is enlarged in the photo at right.  The distant tops of the Craggy Mountains were coated in the white rime ice that clings to the tree tops.  At lower elevations, the tree tops are bare and we see snow deposited on the ground.  Rime ice is an interesting winter formation that we experience in the mountains in winter weather.  Rime occurs when clouds exist at below freezing temperatures.  In such clouds, the cloud particles are liquid water micro drops that remain liquid.  The water droplets are super-cooled.  That is they remain liqu