Weather Dictionary / Glossary of Terms

Nieve Penitente


   Weather TermDescription / Definition
   Nieve Penitente A spike or pillar of compacted snow, firn or glacier ice, caused by differential melting and evaporation. The pillars form most frequently on low-latitude mountains where air temperatures are near freezing, dew points are much below freezing and insolation is strong. Penitents are oriented individually toward the noon-day sun, and usually occur in east-west lines.


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Data courtesy of NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration