Inversion and Hoar Frost.
Be fore-warned –  this is not in the slightest bit bike related – but…….the weather here in Montana produces conditions I’ve not often, if ever, seen before. One of those things is ‘inversion’ and it is when cold air is caught down in the valleys while warm air floats over head locking the cold air in place. It only occurs when we have a very strong high pressure system with clear skies and no wind. If the wind starts to blow and move the air around it will mix and even out the temperatures. For instance this morning here in the valley the temperature was 3° while at the same time it was 22° at the top of the ski area just a few miles from here. Seeing this this morning I did what any sensible person would do and I drove up to the ski area and went to the top where it was nice and warm. Growing up I always thought that it was always coldest at the top of the mountain and it so often isn’t the case.
One of the other things we see when we have inversions is hoar frost. It is made up of very large and delicate frost crystals that form on almost every thin branch and brown flower stalk left over from summer. They glimmer and shine and sparkle like nothing I’ve ever seen and they beg you to come in close to take a very good look. The crystals are so intricate that they are hard to focus on and as beautiful a thing as I’ve ever seen. Once the warm air returns they sublimate and are gone. It’s one of my favorite parts of winter and I never tire of it.
That’s all I got. Stay well,
Dave
Share this Article:
One response to “Inversion and Hoar Frost.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Cool stuff Dave! If/when you have more time it would be cool to see other photos that are different than our stuff back east.