Fine Turgrass Management

Fine Turgrass Management

Steve Cook, CGCS, MG - Director of Agronomy

Friday, October 10, 2014

Frost




Frost is formed when the temperature of a solid surface is cooled below the dew point.

Frost on objects is just water vapor in the air that has condensed as ice onto a surface. Frost forms on objects close to the ground, such as blades of grass. At night, a blade of grass loses energy by emitting a non-lethal kind of radiation, but it absorbs energy emitted by surrounding objects. Under clear nighttime skies, objects near the ground emit more radiation than they receive from the sky, and so a blade of grass cools due to the net energy loss. Once a grass blade gets cold enough, frost will form on it.

 
Overnight cooling of air near the ground causes morning frost on grass and car windshields. Frost will only form on a surface that is at or below freezing temperature. The observed air temperature may be above 32 F, since observations are taken at about four feet above the ground, where it can be warmer. The difference in frost formation from one to the next is most likely due to differences in elevation.

 
 
 

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