DENVER ( KDVR ) — Over the weekend, many Denver-area residents woke up to find the world blanketed in what may have looked like snow or dense frost — and for some, that frost may have had large crystals jutting out at every angle.
That’s because Denver’s atmosphere created frost while the air temperature was below the dewpoint, or freezing point in this season, according to Pinpoint Weather Team Meteorologist Liz McGiffin. The calm, still evenings have also led to the frost formation.
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Called “hoarfrost,” this weather phenomenon only occurs when the air is cooled to the frost point and the water vapor bypasses the liquid stage as it condenses around items like tree branches, becoming instantly solidified as crystals instead of a soft frost.
It’s similar to how dew is formed, except that air mass for the area must be below freezing for the hoarfrost to form. The unique frost formation is named after the Old English word “ hoary ,” meaning gray or white, referencing how the frost can appear as a “beard” on objects.