Weather Words: Sloughing

Sloughing refers to the gradual shedding or peeling away of material from a surface, often driven by saturation of heavy rain or melting snow. It’s commonly used to describe small-scale ground movement, where thin layers of soil, rock, snow or ice slowly break loose and slide downhill. Unlike sudden events like landslides or avalanches, sloughing is usually subtle and continuous, happening over time rather than all at once.

Weather and water often play a big role in sloughing. Heavy rain, melting snow, or repeated freeze–thaw cycles can loosen material near the surface, reducing friction and allowing it to slip away bit by bit. You’ll often see sloughing along steep slopes, road cuts, cliffs or riverbanks, where gravity is constantly at work. While it’s usually less dramatic than larger slope failures, sloughing can still signal instability and, over time, reshape landscapes or create hazards, especially when small losses add up or trigger larger movements.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.