A time-dependent numerical model of ice accretion is used to simúlate the growth of ice loads on wires. Both dry growth (rime) and wet growth (glaze) are modelled in order to examine the dependence of the growth rate of ice load on atmospheric conditions.

The results show that during dry growth under constant atmospheric conditions the growth rate of an ice load slightly decreases. In conditions of wet growth, however, the growth rate increases until the process turns to dry growth after reaching the critical deposit diameter. The effect of air temperature on the growth rate in dry growth turns out to be rather small. However, the final ice load after long-term rime formation is temperature-dependent, because the limiting deposit diameter, at which the collection efficiency becomes practically zero, is reached at different ice masses depending on the ice density.

The modelled relationships between the growth rate of ice load and the atmospheric variables are compared with observational data and with proposed formulae for the calculation of the intensity of wire icing. The possibilities of estimating the formation of ice loads for practical purposes with a simple method, using the routinely measured meteorological parameters only, are discussed.