Thawing causes substantial changes to the winter shape of the dunes. As pore ice, surface ice and snow melt, their cementation of dune slopes and niveo-aeolian deposits are lessened. Slope failure in the form of wet sand flows, slides, and slumps are common when the thawing deposits can no longer maintin the steep winter slope angles. Instability increases when frozen ground doesn't allow water to drain away into the dune.

As snow and ice in niveo-aeolian deposits melt, the sand in the deposits becomes concentrated and is lowered onto the former dune surface underneath the deposit. The nature of the niveo-aeolian deposit affects the melt rate. Thin or patchy sand on top of snow speeds up local melting as the sand absorbs energy from the sun. Thicker layers of sand act as an insulating layer to slow down the melting of the snow and ice below. Patches of damp or wet sand on dune slopes are good indicators of the locations of melting snow and ice. As the deposit dries and settles, cracks and wrinkles may develop. These features are usually short-lived.