Frozen footage: Enchanting landscape in Germany

The dreary grey of winter also has a bizarrely beautiful side. Fog and sub-zero temperatures transform the Ore Mountains, in the video above, into an enchanting icy landscape.

In the high altitudes of the Ore Mountains, Germany, it already looks quite wintry, but snow is not actually the reason. Instead, rime ice over 10cm thick has been deposited on the trees.

Rime ice forms in freezing fog, from supercooled water droplets. The droplets freeze on the windward side of trees and other objects, in low temperatures roughly between -2C and -10C.

Hard rime, like in the video above, requires high winds, whilst soft rime, similar to hoar frost, can form in calm or light winds. Due to the rapid growth of the ice crystals, the amount of it can become so heavy that branches even buckle under the load.

As it turns colder here in the UK and Ireland, rime ice is something you might also come across, particularly at higher altitudes.