According to the Dictionary of Newfoundland English, Silverthaw refers to a condition of the weather in which freezing rain deposits a coating of ice on exposed objects; the gradual deposit of ice on countryside, trees, etc., during a freezing rain.
Growing up in Newfoundland, I always loved to see the silver thaw on the trees in the spring of the year, as it made me feel happy that winter would soon be over and spring was coming. The sheer beauty of seeing the sun glisten through the icy trees just made me smile!
