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Everything Ice Isn't Always NICE!
The weather this winter is crazy! Ice actually closed the office of Farmers’ Almanac for a whole day last week, due to icy tree limbs falling on wires. But do you know what ice is compared to sleet or hail?
WHAT IS ICE? Simply defined, ice is the solid form of water. Water freezes at 32° Fahrenheit (0° Celsius). But ice won’t form on its own between 32°F and -40°F. Liquid water and water vapor need specks of dust, dirt, or other debris to serve as a nucleus around which the hexagonal (six-sided) crystals of ice can form. This is why water droplets can be “supercooled” and remain liquid below 32°F.
SLEET AND HAIL. When it comes to icy weather, many people are confused between hail and sleet. Hail tends to be observed during the summertime, and occurs during a thunderstorm. A hailstone is basically a ball of layered ice, very much like an onion. In fact, if you were to cut a hailstone open,you’d see layers inside the stone. Eventually the hailstonebecomes heavier than the wind can support and it falls to the ground.
Sleet is usually referred to as a sleet pellet and not stone (as in hail stone). Sleet pellets fall during the winter time and occur when there’s a warm layer of air above a freezing layer near the ground.
FREEZING RAIN. Freezing rain is exactly what it sounds like, rain that freezes. The reason for this freezing rain is that it may be warm above your head, but the ground temperature is below freezing. Regular rain may start falling from the sky, but when it hits the very cold ground, it freezes on contact. It can also freeze on objects like power lines and tree limbs.
GLAZE. Glaze is an accumulation of freezing rain. If you have freezing rain that falls long enough, you end up accumulating a glaze on cold surfaces.
ICE STORMS. Ice storm warnings are issued if a coating of ice an half-inch thick or more is expected. The danger of the ice build up is the stress it causes on wires and tree branches. If the ice weight gets too much, the limbs often snap on the wires, causing power outages. While ice storms are most commonly caused by freezing rain, they can also be caused by sleet. Ice storms can be among the most dangerous—and disruptive—of storms.
Is there ice in your future? Check out predictions.