If you see a swell in the ground or under a roadway that looks like a Superman-strong gopher has tunneled beneath, you are likely looking at a frost heave.
If the stress gets to be too much, it will release that energy in a shatter that we hear as a cracking sound in the cold air.įrost heaves are a lot like frost quakes, but here the underground expansion of ice happens close enough to the surface that pressure can be released simply by pushing the ground up. If more water seeps in and freezes, that newly expanded ice puts incredible stress on the frozen and unmoving ground. When the cold lingers in a wet area, the water that saturates the ground will freeze, making the ground much less flexible. Water expands when it freezes, whether it is in a river, your water bottle or underneath the ground. The proper name is cryoseism, but “frost quake” is a common term for these booming snaps in negative temperatures. Check out some of the ways nature creates its winter conditions and ice formations and where you can go to find them. We often hear of how animals fare during the winter-bears hibernate, songbirds cuddle together and wood frogs freeze solid-but what do we know of the icy conditions the animals are weathering? They can be astounding, and found right in your own backyard. (Photo by Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program)
Supercooled fog freezes into rime when it comes in contact with branches and blades of grass. Snow blankets the Blue Ridge Parkway and rime frost covers the surrounding forest in Va.
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