Frost flowers: Once-a-year phenomenon

AccuWeather

Frost flowers are thin layers of ice the develop around plants. Here's how they grow and where you can find them.

Transcript

00:00Well, take a look at this during the wintertime.

00:02I feel like snow gets a lot of the attention,

00:04but this is pretty cool, too.

00:06These are called frost flowers.

00:08It's thin layers of ice that develop around some plants.

00:12So let's talk about how they form.

00:14These layers are about as thick as a credit card.

00:16And to form, they need a couple things, freezing air

00:19temperatures, moist or wet soil that is not frozen,

00:23and a plant stem that has not been previously frozen.

00:26So this means the formation of frost flowers

00:28is really a once-a-year event.

00:30But not all plants capable of producing a frost flower

00:33will do this on the first day of good condition.

00:35So there's still time to see these.

00:37Now, let's break down exactly how these form.

00:41First, water from the ground is drawn upward

00:43through a plant stem.

00:44It starts to freeze because of the freezing air temperature.

00:47And when it does that, it expands.

00:49So the stem of the plant splits, and more of that water freezes.

00:54It creates these frost flowers that you

00:56see right there on your screen.

00:58And you might have noticed there's not one uniform shape

01:01for a frost flower because the ice curls unpredictably

01:04and forms so-called petals.

01:06Now, in some of this video, like right here,

01:08you can see these are very easy to crush.

01:11So it's not like this big block of ice.

01:13They're overall pretty fragile.

01:15So they don't last long.

01:17That's why it's a good idea to be like these people

01:19and take a picture or a quick video when you see them

01:22because they will melt.

01:23They will go away not long after you see them.

01:27So where can you find these frost flowers?

01:29Couple tips.

01:30Look for tall weeds, first of all,

01:32and locations that aren't mowed often.

01:34So head into the woods or near the woods.

01:37They're often your plants like purple ironweed, blackberries,

01:40and wing stem.

01:42So if you see any of them, grab a video.

01:45You don't see them every day.

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