When the temperatures drop to 40 below zero, there is a strange phenomenon that occurs. The air is so cold, it can vaporize boiling water into ice vapor in an instant! It’s actually incredible and can be done anytime the temperatures plummet. Just boil a pot of water and throw it into the air. None of it falls to the ground! It vaporizes with a pop and completely dispels into the air.

It may appear to turn into snow, but what’s really happening is the water is rapidly evaporating into vapor that immediately condenses into a cloud. Boiling water is closer to evaporating than cold water, so when you throw extremely hot water into a very cold, very dry atmosphere it immediately becomes water vapor. These conditions can happen in many areas of northern Alaska when the temperatures drop far below zero. You won’t believe your eyes when you see this phenomenon that only happens in the wintertime.

Watch this guy throw a bucket of hot water at -52:

This one looks really beautiful backlit by the sun:

This guy throws a cup of coffee:

Vaporizing affects more than just cups of coffee, of course. Ice fog is formed when the water in vehicle exhaust freezes and creates ice fog filled with dangerous pollutants. Read more about that in The Frustrating Natural Phenomenon Every Alaskan Has To Worry About Each Winter. Remember the cold snap of 1971? In 1971, Alaska Plunged Into An Arctic Freeze That Makes This Year’s Winter Look Downright Mild.

Have you experienced this wintertime phenomenon in Alaska? Tell us about it in the comments below.

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