Cylinders of a loam soil were placed in the field in late fall and sampled in midwinter and early spring. In soil wetted to near field capacity, nitrate and moisture moved upwards in winter and downwards again in early spring. The amount of movement was negligible in a soil wet to near the wilting percentage. To inhibit nitrification, N-serve was applied in 10 cm of water to field plots (120 × 120 cm) in late fall. Other plots received water but no N-serve. Regular monitoring of soil nitrate, exchangeable ammonium, and soil moisture and temperature in the top 90 cm of these plots showed evidence of upward moisture and nitrate movement as the soil froze. Large and sudden unexplainable decreases in exchangeable ammonium occurred following steady fall build-up.