Needle Ice Phenomenon

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needle ice

I just love when nature gives an impromptu education! Yesterday we went to sign the boys up for baseball. When we got out of the car we noticed the ground next to the baseball field had some strange looking ice. I have a camera on my phone so I snapped a few pictures and then the boys enjoyed stomping the ice crystals!

On our way home from the field, I googled to find out more about what we had discovered. It is called needle ice and it occurs when the ground temperature is above freezing and the air temperature is below zero. The water below the ground is brought to the surface and freezes in needle like threads.

Needle Ice

To our wonderful surprise, we had needle ice in our yard too! I was able to grab my real camera and snap some great pictures. If only the needle ice wasn’t in the shadows between trees I would have had some excellent shots!

needle ice

Have you ever seen needle ice before? It is pretty cool and a great science lesson for the kids!

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Renae is a married working mom of two handsome boys. She works as a registered dental hygienist by day and blogs here at How to Have it All by night. She enjoys cooking from scratch, working in her vegetable garden and functional training.

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Comments

  1. I love those impromptu science lessons – today on our morning walk it was foggy. I heard a plane in the distance and Carina asked why we could hear it but not see it. We had a fun conversation about sound!