A displaced polar vortex has sent record-breaking Arctic air plunging into the midsection of the United States this winter — and along with the brutal temperatures has come an unexpected visual treat: a phenomenon known as “diamond dust.”
While the name sounds like something from a jeweler’s showcase, this wintry sparkle is actually made of microscopic ice crystals suspended in the air, shimmering like glitter when they catch the sunlight and sometimes even creating dramatic evening “light pillars” across the frozen landscape.
Often called “Mother Nature’s tinsel,” diamond dust looks as if someone shook a jar of shimmer into the sky. It can appear even when the weather is clear and blue, which is why it’s sometimes nicknamed clear-sky precipitation.
So how does it form?
Diamond dust happens during prolonged periods of extreme cold, usually when temperatures drop near or below zero degrees Fahrenheit. In these conditions, the air becomes so cold and calm that moisture doesn’t fall as normal snow. Instead, water vapor freezes almost instantly into tiny ice crystals right near the ground.
Because these crystals are incredibly small and lightweight, they don’t tumble down like snowflakes. They hover and drift, sparkling as they move — more like icy confetti than a winter storm.
This phenomenon is most common in the Arctic and Antarctic, where frigid air is a way of life. But during the intense cold spell of late January and early February 2026, diamond dust has been spotted much farther south than usual — even as far as Kentucky, offering residents a rare glimpse of polar-style winter magic.
And the show doesn’t stop with glitter.
Diamond dust can also create one of the most breathtaking optical effects of the season: light pillars.
Light pillars appear in the evening or early morning, when streetlights, headlights, or even the setting sun shine upward through the icy air. The flat, plate-like ice crystals act like tiny mirrors, reflecting light back toward our eyes. The result is an otherworldly vertical beam — a glowing column of light that looks like it’s reaching into the sky.
It’s important to know these pillars aren’t solid beams, but rather an optical illusion, created by millions of crystals perfectly positioned in the air.
Together, diamond dust and light pillars transform ordinary winter nights into something straight out of a fairytale — sparkling skies, glowing towers of light and the sense that the atmosphere itself has been dusted with jewels.
Credits: Diamond dust photo by English: Jacob W. Frank, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Light pillars over London, Ontario Canada, as seen on January 13, 2018, photo by Ray Majoran, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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