DCHP-2

silver thaw Esp. Atlantic Provinces and B. C. DCHP-1 (pre-1967)

• 1

  a freezing rain that covers all exposed surfaces with glistening ice.

  See also: glitter (def. 1)  ice-storm (def. 2)  verglas  

  • 1770  (1792)  There was a silver thaw in the morning, and it rained freely: very mild weather all the rest of the day.
  • 1806  . . . a freezing rain, or as it is commonly called, a silver thaw, sometimes happens on these occasions. . . .
  • 1872  On my return . . . I witnessed for the first time a silver thaw in all its beauty--one of the most lovely sights in North America.
  • 1948  [Caption] The silver thaw of 1933 created havoc with power lines and disrupted all traffic in the Fraser Valley.
  • 1952  It was what Nova Scotians called a "silver thaw," a condition that covers the world outdoors with a glaze of ice, making a glassy fairyland of woods and parks, coating every branch and twig and glittering in the next day's sunshine like an enormous crystal chandelier.

• 2

  the coating of ice resulting from such freezing rain.

  See also: glitter (def. 2)  ice-storm  silver frost  verglas  

  • 1842  Fruit trees and shrubs are seriously injured by this silver thaw, which very fortunately is rare.
  • 1955  Motorists whose cars were covered with the "silver thaw" this morning found that most of it had melted by 11 o'clock, though in areas such as Torbay the glitter was still falling

• 3 — Obs.

  See quote.

  • 1835  (1836)  The country at this time presented an appearance quite different from that presented by the vegetation when affected by a moistness of the atmosphere which is afterwards operated upon by sudden frosts, and is improperly denominated here, a silver thaw.