A comparison of icing conditions on Mount Washington with those encountered in flight

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Abstract
Icing clouds at Mount Washington have a slightly smaller mean drop size, a narrower drop‐size spectrum, a slightly lower temperature, and quite comparable liquid water content when compared with those in the free air. The ranges of occurrence of these properties on the mountain and in the free air overlap broadly, differing markedly only at their extremes. Despite orographic effects, non‐local influences principally determine cloud constitution on the mountain. Cloud data from mountain stations have application to theoretical, forecasting, and climatic studies.Ice accretion in flight can be duplicated in natural wind at Mount Washington by a sliding scale reduction to approximately one fifth scale, except for characteristics directly involving the speed of drop impact. Form and density of ice on small objects overlap broadly those observed in flight. Mountain stations have some practical advantages of economy and freedom from space, weight, and safety limitations, and may be used, among other things, for instrument development and study of ice distribution on complex shapes.

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