A young student asked me a great question today as he looked out his classroom window and saw the rain falling down creating icicles on every tree branch and shrub around.
"Why is the rain making ice on the trees today?" he asked. Great question! Freezing rain is an interesting type of precipitation that can wreak havoc with anything it sticks to!
Remember first that cold air is dense and therefore will sink toward the ground. Warm air, on the other hand, is less dense and therefore rises. Freezing rain occurs when a very thin layer of sub-freezing air (temperatures below 32 degrees) sits next to the ground.
Meanwhile, the air above this cold layer is warmer with temperatures above 32 degrees. Sometimes this sub-freezing layer is only a few hundred feet thick. Precipitation falling thru the warmer layer above falls as rain.
But then it freezes when it reaches the surface because the layer of freezing air is so thin that the raindrops do not have enough time to freeze before reaching the ground.
Instead, the water freezes in contact with the surface, creating a coating of ice on whatever the raindrops contact. Freezing rain is particularly dangerous to travelers as roads can become icy and slick and to trees and powerlines.
Heavy ice accumulations can topple trees and cut power to thousands during a major ice storm. If you ask me, I'd rather have 12 inches of snow than 1/4 inch of ice on the roads!
Stay safe out there!
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