'It's so beautiful': The meteorological phenomenon behind Manitoba's persevering precipitation
Year 2023 is off to a picturesque start in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, thanks to the frost-like dusting parts of the province underwent over the past few days.
CTV News Winnipeg viewers have submitted dozens of photos of the pleasing precipitation, coating trees, fences and homes to look like Currier and Ives prints.
Environment and Climate Change Canada meteorologist Terri Lang said the precipitation that’s popping up across social media is likely rime icing resulting from a few days of foggy skies.
She said this form of precipitation happens when fog and cloud droplets are floating around the atmosphere, even though the temperature is well below freezing. These droplets can exist in the atmosphere even when the mercury dips as far as -25 Celsius, she said.
“When those little droplets of liquid encounter something that's below freezing, they'll just automatically freeze onto them. So that's trees, that's buildings, that's the roadway, that's your car,” Lang told CTV News Winnipeg in a phone interview.
“It’s so beautiful.”
Lang notes rime icing can sometimes be mistaken for hoar frost, which occurs during clear skies, when water droplets undergo sublimation, which means it transitions from solid to gas, skipping the liquid phase.
“Because of the liquid, rime icing looks different. It looks heavier. It coats more of the trees. It’s not as easy to blow off, like hoar frost,” she said.
THE REASON BEHIND THE PERSEVERING PRECIPITATION
Lang notes the rime ice has stuck around for so long because of a lack of weather systems moving through our atmosphere.
“They're hitting California, they're hitting the B.C. coast, they're going through the Northwest Territories, so we're kind of lacking wind, and we're lacking anything to mix the atmosphere up,” she said.
However, a weather system that could move through northern Manitoba Friday could bring some more wind up from the south, likely dissipating the fog and cloud coverage.
“But then it looks like after that, probably by Saturday, it’s going to reform again.”
RIME ICE CAN BE PRETTY, BUT DANGEROUS: ECCC
While pretty, rime icing can also be a hazard.
Lang said it can create issues with roads and power lines.
“If you have a really long period of this rime icing, that can go on for days, it can start weighing down the lines and the infrastructure on the power lines,” she said.
Manitoba Hydro tells CTV News Winnipeg there is quite a bit of ice accumulating in the southwestern part of the province, near Killarney and Morden.
“We’re already coordinating de-icing in those areas and have been on high alert about it for a couple days,” said Riley McDonald with Manitoba Hydro.
“Sometimes we may have to take a power outage to de-ice a line. Right now we’re not doing that, but it may be a possibility. If we did require a power outage for de-icing, we have several ways of notifying customers.”
Customers are asked to let Hydro know if they see heavily iced, sagging or galloping power lines through the comment form on its online outage report or by calling 1-888-MB HYDRO (1-888-624-9376).
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
Trump hush money trial: Play-by-play on Day 2 of Stormy Daniels testimony
Adult film star Stormy Daniels took the stand for a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump's hush money case continues in Manhattan.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Miss Teen USA steps down just days after Miss USA's resignation
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.
Cyclist strikes child crossing the street to catch school bus in Montreal
A video circulating on social media of a young girl being hit by a bike has some calling for better safety and more caution when designing bike lanes in the city. The video shows a four-year-old girl crossing Jeanne-Mance Street in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood to get on a school bus stopped on the opposite side of the street
B.C. wildfires likely to spread with weekend temperatures expected to soar, province says
Wildfire and emergency management officials in British Columbia are urging residents to be prepared for increased fire activity as temperatures are expected to soar above 30 C in parts of the province this weekend.
Wilfrid Laurier football player drafted despite only playing 27 games in his entire life
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.