A frozen winter morning in northwestern Washington led to this intricate display of hair ice. (Video courtesy: Mathew Nichols Photography)
WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. – So-called “hair ice” was photographed Wednesday in Washington state.
The rare phenomenon gets its name from the strands of ice that resemble soft, silky hair.
“I took a cold drive around a wooded area to see if I could find anything interesting to photograph and came across this cool sight along the way,” Photography by Tandem Wheels, who captured the photos, said in a post to X.
Branches covered in hair ice.
(Photography By Tandem Wheels / FOX Weather)
The ice structure looks like strands of hair, and it happens because of a fungus found in wet, rotting wood, according to the U.K. Met Office.
Hair ice only forms in very specific conditions, on the rotting wood, the Met Office said, and where it’s slightly below 32 degrees Farenheit and the air is moist.
The fungus that causes the hair ice to form is called Exidiopsis effusa. When the fungus is found in the wood, and the right temperatures are present, scientists discovered that water inside the wood freezes and creates a barrier inside the wood.
WATCH: SURREAL ‘HAIR ICE’ GROWS FROM DEAD BRANCH ON FROZEN WASHINGTON MORNING
That barrier traps liquid between the ice and the wood’s pores, creating a suction that pushes the water out through the pores and extends outward.
The Met Office said it is believed that an inhibitor present in the fungus allows the strands of ice to stabilize, allowing the formation of the hair ice and letting it hold its shape for sometimes several hours.