Home / Editor's Pick /

Frosty mornings: When to scrape your car

11:00 PM
January 28, 2023

Frosty mornings
When to scrape your car

Hoar frost being easily scraped off a car windscreen.Hoar frost being easily scraped off a car windscreen.

We all know that dreaded feeling of needing to get up early to defrost your car in the morning. But we have some tips to help you deal with it!

There are two main reasons that your car might need scraping when it's cold out, and that's because of a hoar frost, or frozen dew.

Hoar frost

Simply put, this is just what we usually call frost. It is the physical ice crystals that you can see on a sub-zero object or surface that has come into contact with moist air, as seen in the image above.

When the surface temperature falls below zero, and then below the dew point, the water vapor turns directly into ice as it cools and condenses on that surface.

It's a whiteish sort of color, and when you can just use the good old-fashioned windscreen scraper to easily get it off, that's definitely a hoar frost.

Frozen dew

Frozen dew, on the other hand, will likely take you longer to get off your windscreen. It's a thin coating of glaze ice, and is what we are more familiar with, as black ice.

It forms in the same way as regular dew but in a sub-zero environment. So, the surface temperature falls below the dew point first, allowing dew to form, and then falls below freezing.

So the existing dew on the surface freezes over and is awfully difficult to scrape off. Sometimes you can have a layer of frost covering a layer of frozen dew beneath, which unfortunately creates double the work!

It's often in this case that people are tempted to bring out their kitchen kettles. Whilst modern windshields are strong, they can still crack and the seals can deteriorate faster when subject to rapid temperature changes, so avoid this!

Instead, we suggest a de-icer spray or a pre-ice spray. Alternatively, you can mix up a concoction of three parts vinegar and one part water, which should keep your screens frost-free by morning. Covers can also do the trick.

But how do you know when to do all of this? Well, just be sure to keep an eye on the TemperatureRadar.

Weather & Radar USA editorial team
More on the topic
Waterspouts weatherradar.
Monday, May 26, 2025

They can be dangerous

Waterspouts possible, what are they?
Summer brings the heat and the water activities with it!
Monday, June 2, 2025

Bye, spring!

Meteorological summer is here!
Stonehenge during the June 2020 summer solstice.
Friday, June 20, 2025

Longest day of the year

Today marks the summer solstice
All weather news
This might also interest you
Tuesday, July 1, 2025

Where do storms form?

What to expect from the tropics in July
Sunday, July 6, 2025

Tropical Storm Chantal

Carolina's heavy rains, flood risk
tropical storm
Saturday, July 5, 2025

Hurricane Season

How do Tropical Storms form?
All articles
Weather & Radar

www.weatherandradar.com

instagramfacebookthreadsContact uslinkList
Privacy policy | Legal info | Accessibility statement