What is freezing rain and how to deal with its effects? Freezing rain and six other unusual winter phenomena At what temperature does freezing rain occur
Falling out of the clouds at negative air temperatures (most often 0 ... -10 °, sometimes up to -15 °) in the form of transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 mm. There is unfrozen water inside the balls - falling on objects, the balls break into shells, water flows out and ice forms.
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Notes
Links
- Weather review from 12/26/2010
- (Russian). IA "Meteonovosti" (December 12, 2013). Retrieved December 12, 2013.
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An excerpt characterizing Freezing Rain
Princess Mary interrupted him.“Oh, that would be so awful…” she began, and without finishing from excitement, with a graceful movement (like everything she did in his presence), bowing her head and looking gratefully at him, she went after her aunt.
On the evening of that day, Nikolai did not go anywhere to visit and stayed at home in order to settle some accounts with the horse sellers. When he finished his business, it was already late to go somewhere, but it was still early to go to bed, and Nikolai walked up and down the room alone for a long time, pondering his life, which rarely happened to him.
Princess Mary made a good impression on him near Smolensk. The fact that he met her then in such special circumstances, and the fact that it was precisely her at one time that his mother pointed out to him as a rich party, made him pay special attention to her. In Voronezh, during his visit, the impression was not only pleasant, but strong. Nikolai was struck by the special, moral beauty that he noticed in her this time. However, he was about to leave, and it never occurred to him to regret that, leaving Voronezh, he was deprived of the opportunity to see the princess. But the current meeting with Princess Mary in the church (Nikolai felt this) sank deeper into his heart than he foresaw it, and deeper than he wished for his peace of mind. This pale, thin, sad face, this radiant look, these quiet, graceful movements, and most importantly, this deep and tender sadness, expressed in all her features, disturbed him and demanded his participation. In men, Rostov could not stand to see the expression of a higher, spiritual life (that's why he did not like Prince Andrei), he contemptuously called it philosophy, daydreaming; but in Princess Mary, it was in this sadness, which showed the whole depth of this spiritual world alien to Nicholas, that he felt an irresistible attraction.
“A wonderful girl must be! That's the angel! he said to himself. “Why am I not free, why did I hurry with Sonya?” And involuntarily he imagined a comparison between the two: poverty in one and wealth in the other of those spiritual gifts that Nicholas did not have and which therefore he valued so highly. He tried to imagine what it would be like if he were free. How would he propose to her and she would become his wife? No, he couldn't imagine it. He felt terrified, and no clear images presented themselves to him. With Sonya, he had long ago formed a future picture for himself, and all this was simple and clear, precisely because it was all invented, and he knew everything that was in Sonya; but with Princess Mary it was impossible to imagine a future life, because he did not understand her, but only loved her.
Freezing rain is a rare natural phenomenon in Moscow; these are atmospheric precipitation falling from clouds at negative air temperatures (most often 0 ... -10 °, sometimes up to -15 °) in the form of transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 mm. There is unfrozen water inside the balls - falling on objects, the balls break into shells, water flows out and ice forms.
But this phenomenon was experienced in December 2010 by all residents of Moscow.
On December 25-26, 2010, freezing rain fell in Moscow, the Moscow region and a number of neighboring regions in the zone of two parallel warm fronts. An ice crust up to 20 mm thick, in places up to 50 mm thick, covered roads, sidewalks, tree branches, wires, cars parked on the street, etc. In the following days, the situation was aggravated by the accumulation of wet snow on icy surfaces, resulting in the formation of so-called "complex deposits". The absence of thaws and strong winds caused the preservation of ice and snow-ice deposits over the next few weeks (in the Moscow region until 01/19/2011).
Many Muscovites faced problems that were the result of this natural phenomenon: people could not open their cars because they were under a layer of ice; trees turned into ice statues; it was very difficult for people to walk on the sidewalks, and for vehicles to drive on the roads - everything was covered with ice.
The consequences were, unfortunately, sad: more than 12,000 trees were felled in Moscow alone. Falling trees damaged and cut power lines. Life support facilities, hospitals turned out to be de-energized, there were interruptions in the operation of airports, railway and road transport, urban electric transport, fixed and cellular communications. The transport situation in Moscow and the Moscow suburbs was close to catastrophic: long-distance trains, suburban electric trains, Aeroexpress trains to Moscow airports moved with long delays, and there were interruptions in the movement of metro trains. Due to a break in the wires of the main and backup power lines, Domodedovo Airport stopped its work for several days, and due to the lack of anti-icing fluid for handling aircraft, Sheremetyevo Airport. Falling trees and branches damaged many cars, hundreds of people were injured, and there were casualties.
I remember very well one of the icy days: I went with my parents to the Christmas tree in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It was almost impossible to walk, the road was so slippery. It was a real ice rink; the ice shone like a mirror, and it seemed that even on skates it would be impossible to move, it was so slippery. Many people simply stood in confusion, and then barely reached the nearest fence, also covered with a thin layer of ice, and, holding on to it, walked forward. So did we.
In Moscow, the icing lasted up to 17 days, and its maximum thickness was 10-11 mm.
But it was also unusually beautiful! I never again saw roads, road signs, trees, cars, shops, monuments of my beloved city covered with ice. The whole city was covered in ice! It seemed that only people managed to "survive" after the ice disaster.
And this photo was taken on the very day that I still remember and that I still wonder about!
Which arises due to the temperature difference at the height of the passage of the rain front and at the surface of the earth. It refers to the so-called "oversized" precipitation, which falls out monotonously over a fairly long period of time.
Everything happens like this: below, above the surface of the earth, there is cold air (ice rain traditionally occurs at), and above it there is a layer of warmer air.
Raindrops, approaching the ground, freeze very quickly - but only outside. It turns out that it consists of solid transparent balls of ice, inside of which unfrozen water remains.
When falling, the balls break, the liquid pours out and quickly freezes, forming ice on the asphalt and an ice crust on other surfaces (on tree branches, roofs of houses, cars, etc.).
Note! In the science of weather, there is also such a thing as " heavy snow” - but, unlike prolonged freezing rain, it refers to heavy rainfall, characterized by a sudden onset and a sharp change in intensity. It happens at positive temperatures and is dangerous because it sharply worsens visibility.
Is freezing rain dangerous?
Yes, freezing rain can cause serious damage. Under the weight of ice, trees break and die, power lines break, various structures collapse, and air traffic is disrupted. The number of road accidents increases sharply due to ice on the roads. In addition, it becomes very difficult for motorists to rescue their cars from ice captivity, and for public utilities to clear the streets.
Does it drop out often?
Freezing rain is a rare occurrence in our country. It is typical for the east coast of North America - the northeast of the USA and Canada.
But at the end of 2010 - beginning of 2011, freezing rain passed in Moscow and the Moscow region. As a result: more than 400 thousand people were left without electricity; Wet snow and ice sticking to wires and fallen trees disrupted the power supply to most settlements in the region, as well as railways and social facilities. Hospitals were de-energized.
Due to a power outage at Domodedovo Airport, Sheremetyevo Airport worked intermittently. Thousands of people could not leave the capital. There were problems in the work of public transport - trams and trolleybuses. In addition, many cars were damaged.
Safety regulations
When there is ice on the street, you need to be careful, carefully look under your feet, because on the ice you can easily slip and get injured. It is best to wear shoes with ribbed soles. It is also better not to walk under frozen trees - branches can fall under the weight of the ice crust.
How to get a car out of ice captivity?
1) The first thing a motorist needs to do is open the door and get inside. In this case, do not pour boiling water on the door - the paint may crack and corrosion will begin. Experts advise using a heating pad with hot water and applying it to the lock. Then you need to slightly swing the door so that the ice at the junction cracks and it opens.
2) If you managed to get inside, then you must immediately start the engine, turn on the stove and headlights, the car will gradually warm up.
3) When the windows become warmer, you can try to remove the ice from them with a scraper. Prior to this, the wipers are strictly not recommended to be turned on.
4) When the car has more or less thawed, you need to take it to the car wash, where the remaining ice will be knocked down with jets of water.
Freezing rain is precipitation in the form of balls of ice with a diameter of one to three millimeters. Inside these "drops" is water.
ON THIS TOPIC
Freezing rain is formed during a temperature inversion - a reverse, anomalous distribution of temperatures. As a rule, with increasing altitude, the air becomes colder, but in the zone of passage of warm atmospheric fronts, it sometimes happens that cold air accumulates in the surface layers, and warmer masses are located above it. Drops falling from warm clouds, flying through a layer with a negative temperature, turn into ice balls with water inside. Colliding when falling with a hard surface, these balls are broken into shells. The water flows out, forming a beautiful but dangerous ice crust.
As a result, injuries increase, the number of road accidents increases. Trees break under the weight of icy branches. The resulting "shell" deprives animals and birds of food.
In Russia, freezing rain most often occurs in the Southern, Volga, Central federal districts, as well as in the Leningrad, Pskov and Novgorod regions. Many people remember what happened in the Moscow region on December 26, 2010. The thickness of the ice shell that covered everything around then reached three centimeters. More than 50 thousand trees died.
The natural disaster caused numerous breaks in power lines and led to a transport collapse. Due to icing, Sheremetyevo Airport had to change the schedule, and the work of Domodedovo was completely stopped. More than 400 thousand people were left without electricity. The damage from that freezing rain amounted to more than 200 billion rubles.
At the end of November 2012, freezing rain hit the Moscow region again, causing damage to transport and power lines. Cars and green spaces were damaged. But the damage was less that time: freezing rain fell during the daytime against the backdrop of a thaw, so its effects were not devastating.
However, meteorologists do not consider freezing rain to be a common occurrence. It's more of a natural anomaly that doesn't happen all that often. And yet it is worth knowing how to prepare for it and deal with the consequences.
During and immediately after freezing rain, of course, it is best to be at home. But if you still need to go outside, then you should be extremely careful, avoid especially slippery places and do not make sudden movements. During freezing rain, protect your face and hands: the sharp edges of the "drops" can damage the skin.
It is better to leave the car in the parking lot and, if possible, use public transport. If you do have to get behind the wheel, drive as carefully as possible, avoid sudden braking, reduce maneuvering to a minimum and observe an increased interval.
In order to free the frozen car from the ice crust, use a heating pad with hot water. Gently swing the frozen door until the ice cracks at the joint. Warm up the car, clean the glass with a scraper and visit the car wash, where the ice crust will be knocked down by the pressure of water.
Recall that on the evening of Monday, November 7, freezing rain again hit Moscow and the Moscow region. The streets and trees were covered with a thin, shiny crust. Car owners had to free them from glass captivity. In addition, because of the icing of the wires, the trains "Swallow" and "Sapsan" stopped, reports Life.ru.
Meanwhile, weather forecasters warn that until December 20, the weather in the capital region will be unstable. Earlier, Director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia Roman Vilfand said that the average temperature in January will be -9.2. Such frosts are close to normal, but the winter will be much colder than last year.
Like Dni.Ru, real winter will come to Moscow on November 11-12. The temperature at night will drop to -10, during the day it is expected to be -5 in the capital and -8 in the region.