Seward, Alaska
I researched the incredibly beautiful feathery crystals that greeted us on New Year’s Day and decided it was hoar frost, not rime ice. After days of rain, sn’rain, and snow, the sky had cleared and the temperature dropped in time for the New Year’s fireworks. The humid air crystallized into a glittering wonderland on branches, grasses, and the snow, the frozen equivalent of dew. The cheery but chilly low-angle sun lit them up without melting them, so the phenomenon lasted several days.
https://www.dtn.com/rime-ice-or-hoar-frost-there-is-a-difference/
https://wgntv.com/weather/weather-blog/what-is-the-difference-between-hoarfrost-and-rime-ice/
On January 1, the sun slipped behind the western mountains far down Resurrection Bay at 3:06 pm, igniting fiery snow streamers off the mountain flanks, blown by the north wind.
By 4:00 pm, the sun’s last rays gently touched the eastern mountains, gracing them with Alpenglow’s ever-changing spectrum from pink to violet to deep blue and then purple.
A phenomenal day of phenomena!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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