Ice storm From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Ice storm (disambiguation). Part of the nature series Weather Calendar seasons Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Tropical seasons Dry season Wet season Storms Thunderstorm (Thundersnow) Supercell Downburst Lightning Tornado Waterspout Tropical cyclone (Hurricane) Extratropical cyclone Winter storm Blizzard

Ice storm Dust storm Firestorm Cloud

Precipitation Drizzle (Freezing drizzle) Rain (Freezing rain) Snow (Rain and snow mixed Snow grains Snow roller) Graupel Ice pellets Hail Topics Meteorology Climate Weather forecasting Heat wave Air pollution Cold wave Weather portal v t e An ice storm is a type of winter storm characterized by freezing rain, also known as a

glaze event or, in some parts of the United States, as a silver thaw.[1] The U.S. National Weather Service defines an ice storm as a storm which results in the accumulation of at least 0.25-inch (6.4 mm) of ice on exposed surfaces.[2] From 1982 to 1994, ice storms were more common thanblizzards and averaged 16 per year.[3] Contents [hide] 1 Formation 2 Effect 3 Notable ice storms 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 References 7 External links [edit]Formation A graph showing the formation of different kinds of precipitate as a function of height and temperature. Ice storms occur when a layer of warm air is between two layers of cold air. Frozenprecipitation melts to rain while falling into the warm air layer, and then begins to refreeze in the cold layer below the inversion. If the precipitate refreezes while still in the air, it will land on the ground as sleet. Alternatively, the liquid droplets can continue to fall without freezing, passing through the cold air just above the surface. This thin layer of air then cools the rain to a temperature below freezing (0 C or 32 F). However, the drops themselves do not freeze, a phenomenon called supercooling (or forming "supercooled drops"). When the supercooled drops strike ground or anything else below 0 C (32 F) (e.g power lines, tree branches, aircraft), a layer of ice accumulates as the cold water drips off, forming a slowly thickening film of ice, hence freezing rain.[4][5][6] While meteorologists can predict when and where an ice storm will occur, some storms still occur with little or no warning.[5] Most ice storms are thought to form primarily in the north-eastern US, but damaging storms have occurred farther south. An ice storm in

February 1994 resulted in tremendous ice accumulation as far south as Mississippi, and caused reported damage in nine states. More timber was damaged than that caused by Hurricane Camille. An ice storm in eastern Washington in November 1996 directly followed heavy snowfall. The combined weight of the snow and 25 to 37 millimeters (0.98 to 1.5 in) of ice caused considerable widespread damage. This was considered to be the most severe ice storm in the Spokane area since 1940.[3] [edit]Effect Wires sagging after an ice storm. Besides disrupting transportation, ice storms can disrupt utilities by snapping lines and poles. The freezing rain from an ice storm covers everything with heavy, smooth glaze ice. Icecovered roads become slippery and hazardous, as the ice causes vehicles to skid out of control, which can cause devastating car crashes as well as pile-ups. Pedestriansare severely affected as sidewalks become slippery, causing people to slip and fall, and outside stairs can become an extreme injury hazard. In addition to hazardous driving or walking conditions, branches or even whole trees may break from the weight of ice. Falling branches can block roads, tear down power and telephone lines, and cause other damage. Even without falling trees and tree branches, the weight of the ice itself can easily snap power lines and also break and bring down power/utility poles; even steel frame electricity pylons have been sent crashing to the ground by the weight of the ice. This can leave people without power for anywhere from several days to a month. According to most meteorologists, just one quarter of an inch of ice accumulation can add about 500 pounds (230 kg) of weight per line span. Damage from ice storms is highly capable of shutting down entire metropolitan areas. Devastation caused by an ice storm Additionally, the loss of power during ice storms has indirectly caused numerous illnesses and deaths due to unintentional carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. At lower levels, CO poisoning causes symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, fatigue, and headache, but high levels can cause unconsciousness, heart failure, and death.[7] The relatively high incidence of CO poisoning during ice storms occurs due to the use of alternative methods of heating and cooking during prolonged power outages, common during severe ice storms.[8] Gas generators, charcoal and propane barbecues, and kerosene heaters contribute to CO poisoning when they operate in confined locations.[7] CO is produced when appliances burn fuel without enough

oxygen present,[9] such as basements and other indoor locations. Loss of electricity during ice storms can also easily lead to hypothermia and even death from hypothermia. It can also lead to ruptured pipes due to water freezing inside the pipes. Tree sensitivity to sap coloration and resistance to crown damage from Low or average an ice storm. [3]Sensitivity to sapcoloratio n Sensitive Resistance to ice damage to crown

Average or strong

Strong

Manitoba maple (Acer negundo) Striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum) Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) Norway maple (Acer platanoides) Red Maple (Acer rubrum) White birch (Betula pubescens) Grey birch (Betula populifolia) Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) Red pine (Pinus resinosa) Aspens Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) Chokecherry

Yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) American beech (Fagus grandifolia) White ash (Fraxinus americana) Elms Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) White pines[disambigu ation needed] Apple trees Balsam fir (Abies balsamea') Little-leaf linden (Tilia cordata) Hawthorns

Spruces

(Prunus virginiana) Willows and Alders Mountain ashes Linden (or basswood) Locusts and Honey locusts (Gleditsia triacanthos) Insensitive Eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) American larch (Larix laricina) Black cherry (Prunus serotina) Red ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica) Common hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) Red oaks Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) Shagbark hickory (Carya ovata) Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) Burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa) White oak (Quercus alba) Swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) Hophornbeam Black walnut (Juglans nigra) Hornbeam Saskatoon berry (Amelanchier alnifolia)

[edit]Notable ice storms An ice storm which struck northern Idaho in January 1961 set a record for thickest recorded ice accumulation from a single storm in the United States, at 8 inches.[10][11] In March 1991, a major ice storm in the area of Rochester, NY caused $375 million in damages, placing it among the worst natural disasters in New York State history.[12] In February 1994, a severe ice storm caused over $1 billion in damage in the Southern United States, primarily in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama. The North American ice storm of 1998 occurred during January 59, 1998. It was one of

the most damaging and costly ice storms inNorth American history. The storm caused massive power failures in several large cities on the East Coast of the United States. The most affected area was extreme eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec in Canada, where over 3 million people were without power for up to a month and a half. Whole trees snapped and electrical pylons were completely flattened under the weight of the accumulated ice.[13] The Northeastern United States was impacted by a major ice storm on December 1112, 2008, which left about 1.25 million homes and businesses without power. Areas impacted with 34 to 1 in (19 to 25 mm) of ice accumulation included eastern New York in the Albanyarea, central and western Massachusetts, southern New Hampshire, coastal and south-central Maine, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains region, northwestern Connecticut, and southern Vermont. Southern New Hampshire and northernmost Massachusetts got hit the worst with the storm with ice accumulations ranging from 1.5 to 3 in (38 to 76 mm) of ice. This left residents unable to get supplies, go to work etc. due to blocked roads from trees that fell on the roads. Any trees that fell quickly took down power poles. It took utility crews from 4 to as much as 16 days to get a look at the damage and start to restore power to nearly 1.3 million people. In all there were 675,000 residents in New Hampshire without power and around 500,000 in northern Massachusetts.[citation needed] In late January, 2009, ice storms covered several U.S. states, including Arkansas and Kentucky. Most areas affected saw over 2 in (51 mm) of ice accumulation, and between 15 in (25127 mm) of snow on top of the ice. This ice storm left well over 2 million people without power at its peak and killed 55 people, 24 in Kentucky.[14] Rural Water Associations in Arkansas and Kentucky activated emergency response plans to deal with power loss to small water utilities across their states. Neighboring state Rural Water Associations, including experienced emergency responders from Louisiana and Florida, loaned equipment and manpower to assist the hardest-hit areas.[15][16] During the unusually severe winter of 20092010 in the United Kingdom, heavy snow had fallen over much of the country in late December and early January. By the second week of January, many of the roads and pavements had been cleared by local councils due to the use of rock salt gritting. However, during the early hours of 12 January, a wet front[clarification needed] moved across the country, causing freezing rain and heavy ice glaze, particularly in the South and West Yorkshire areas of Northern England (crucially, this rainfall had stopped before first light). When the local population prepared to set out for work and school, they saw from their windows what appeared to be clear roads and pavements but were in fact treacherous sheets of black ice. Cars and buses almost immediately encounted extreme difficulty, and emergency services were called to dozens of accidents. Pedestrians in the village ofHolmfirth found the only safe way to proceed was to crawl on all fours.[17] Accident and emergency units at hospitals in the Sheffield,Rotherham, and Barnsley areas found themselves inundated by people with

broken bones, fractures, and sprains, and many schools were closed as it was judged unsafe for pupils to attempt to make their way there. On December 25, 2010, freezing rain fell on Moscow and vicinity. The glaze ice accumulation caused a number of accidents and power outages, of which the most serious was damage caused to two power lines feeding Domodedovo Airport, causing a complete blackout of the airport and express railway that connected it to the city. As a result, the airport was shut down and hundreds of passengers were stranded inside, with taxi drivers charging up to 10,000 rubles (USD 330) for a one-hour drive to the city.[18] Other city airports,Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo, where air traffic was re-routed and amid heavy snowfall that followed ice rain, collapsed a day later, causing a full air transport collapse. [edit]Gallery A tree covered in ice from the Northeastern Ice Storm of 2008. A street in Elora, Ontario,Canada after an ice storm, sometime between 1900 and 1919. A pinecone covered in ice, showing the A buildup of ice on a branch after an ice storm. results of a winter ice storm.

 Car after an ice storm hit central Iowa in 2007. [edit]See also Blizzard From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the winter storm condition. For other uses, see Blizzard (disambiguation). Part of the nature series Weather Calendar seasons Spring Summer Autumn Winter

Tropical seasons Dry season Wet season Storms Thunderstorm (Thundersnow) Supercell Downburst Lightning Tornado Waterspout Tropical cyclone (Hurricane)

Extratropical cyclone Winter storm Blizzard Ice storm Dust storm Firestorm Cloud

Precipitation Drizzle (Freezing drizzle) Rain (Freezing rain) Snow (Rain and snow mixed Snow grains Snow roller) Graupel Ice pellets Hail Topics Meteorology Climate Weather forecasting Heat wave Air pollution Cold wave Weather portal v

 t e Visibility reduced by blowing snow during a blizzard A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds of at least 56 km/h (35 mph) and lasting for a prolonged period of time typically three hours or more. A severe blizzard has winds over 72 km/h (45 mph), near zero visibility, and temperatures of 12 C (10 F) or lower. A ground blizzardis a weather condition where snow is not falling but loose snow on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. Contents [hide] 1 Definition 2 Blizzards in Australia 3 United States storm systems 1 3.1 Nor'easter blizzards 4 Historic events 2 4.1 1972 Iran blizzard 3 4.2 The Snow Winter of 18801881 4 4.3 The Storm of the Century 5 Historical blizzards 5 5.1 North America 6 5.2 United Kingdom 7 5.3 Other

6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit]Definition Officially, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as a severesnowstorm characterized by strong winds causing blowing snow that results in low visibilities. The difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind, not the amount of snow. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have sustained winds or frequent gusts that are greater than or equal to 56 km/h (35 mph) with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or a quarter mile or less and must last for a prolonged period of time typically three hours or more.[1][2] Impact of blizzard in Serra da Estrela,Portugal While severe cold and large amounts of drifting snow may accompany blizzards, they are not required. Blizzards can bring whiteout conditions, and can paralyze regions for days at a time, particularly where snowfall is unusual or rare. A severe blizzard has winds over 72 km/h (45 mph), near zero visibility, and temperatures of 12 C (10 F) or lower.[3] In Antarctica, blizzards are associated with winds spilling over the edge of the ice plateau at an average velocity of 160 km (about 100 miles) per hour.[3] Ground blizzard refers to a weather condition where loose snow or ice on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. The primary difference between a ground blizzard as opposed to a regular blizzard is that in a ground blizzard no precipitation is produced at the time, but rather all the precipitation is already present in the form of snow or ice at the surface. Drifted snow near Burrow-withBurrow, Lancashire, England, January 1963

The Australia Bureau of Meteorology describes a blizzard as, "Violent and very cold wind which is laden with snow, some part, at least, of which has been raised from snow covered ground." [4] Blizzard conditions of cold temperatures and strong winds can cause wind chill values that can result in hypothermia or frostbite. The wind chill factor is the amount of cooling the human body feels due to the combination of wind and temperature. [edit]Blizzards in Australia Blizzards are not common in mainland Australia, but occur frequently in the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria. When blizzards do occur, they can affect the Tasmanian Highlands and, particularly, Mount Wellington, which towers over the Tasmanian capital Hobart. Blizzards do not affect any major towns or cities, because there are no populated areas located in the mountains except for the ski resort towns of New South Wales and Victoria. [edit]United States storm systems Duluth, Minnesota blizzard, March 2007 March blizzard in North Dakota - 1966 - Caption jokingly reads "I believe there is a train under here somewhere!" In the United States, storm systems powerful enough to cause blizzards usually form when thejet stream dips far to the south, allowing cold, dry polar air from the north to clash with warm, humid air moving up from the south.[2][5] They are most common in the Great Plains, the Great Lakes states, and the northeastern states along the coast, and less common in the Pacific Northwest. When cold, moist air from the Pacific Ocean moves eastward to the Rocky Mountains and theGreat Plains, and warmer, moist air moves north from the Gulf of Mexico, all that is needed is a movement of cold polar air moving south to form potential blizzard conditions that may extend from the Texas panhandle to the Great Lakes. Another storm system occurs when a cold core low over the Hudson Bay area in Canada is displaced southward over southeastern Canada, the Great Lakes, and New England. When the rapidly moving cold front collides with warmer air coming north from the Gulf

of Mexico, strong surface winds, a lot of cold air advection, and extensive wintry precipitation occur. Conditions approaching a blizzard whiteout in Minnesota, on March 1, 2007. Note the unclear horizon near the center. Low pressure systems moving out of the Rocky Mountains onto the Great Plains, a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, can cause thunderstorms and rain to the south and heavy snows and strong winds to the north. With few trees or other obstructions to reduce wind and blowing, this part of the country is particularly vulnerable to blizzards with very low temperatures and whiteout conditions. In a true whiteout there is no visible horizon. People can become lost in their own front yards, when the door is only 10 feet (3 meters) away, and they would have to feel their way back. Motorists have to stop their cars where they are, as the road is impossible to see. Nor'easter of 1996 snowdrifts, Yonkers,New York. [edit]Nor'easter blizzards A nor'easter is a macro-scale storm along theEast Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada; it gets its name from the direction the wind is coming from. The usage of the term in North America comes from the wind associated with many different types of storms some of which can form in the North Atlantic Ocean and some of which form as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The term is most often used in the coastal areas of New England and Atlantic Canada. This type of storm has characteristics similar to a hurricane. More specifically it describes a low-pressure area whose center of rotation is just off the East Coast and whose leading winds in the left-forward quadrant rotate onto land from the northeast. High storm waves may sink ships at sea and cause coastal flooding and beach erosion. Notable nor'easters include The Great Blizzard of 1888, one of the worst blizzards in U.S. history. It dropped 40-50 inches of snow and killed 400 people, mostly in New York. [edit]Historic events [edit]1972 Iran blizzard

The 1972 Iran Blizzard, which caused approximately 4,000 deaths, was the deadliest blizzard in recorded history. Dropping as much as 26 feet of snow, it completely covered 200 villages. After a snowfall lasting nearly a week, an area the size of Wisconsin was entirely buried in snow.[6] [edit]The Snow Winter of 18801881 A snow blockade in southern Minnesota. On March 29, 1881, snowdrifts in Minnesota were higher than locomotives. The winter of 18801881 is widely considered the most severe winter ever known in the United States. Many children and their parents learned of "The Snow Winter" through the children's book The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder, in which the author tells of her family's efforts to survive. The snow arrived in October 1880 and blizzard followed blizzard throughout the winter and into March 1881, leaving many areas snowbound throughout the entire winter. Accurate details in Wilder's novel include the blizzards' frequency and the deep cold, the Chicago and North Western Railway stopping trains until the spring thaw because the snow made the tracks impassable, the near-starvation of the townspeople, and the courage of her husband Almanzo and another man, who ventured out on the open prairie in search of a cache of wheat that no one was even sure existed. The October blizzard brought snowfalls so deep that two-story homes had snow up to the second floor windows. No one was prepared for the deep snow so early in the season and farmers all over the region were caught before their crops had even been harvested, their grain milled, or with their fuel supplies for the winter in place. By January the train service was almost entirely suspended from the region. Railroads hired scores of men to dig out the tracks but it was a wasted effort: As soon as they had finished shoveling a stretch of line, a new storm arrived, filling up the line and leaving their work useless.

There were no winter thaws and on February 2, 1881, a second massive blizzard struck that lasted for nine days. In the towns the streets were filled with solid drifts to the tops of the buildings and tunneling was resorted to to secure passage about town. Homes and barns were completely covered, compelling farmers to tunnel to reach and feed their stock. When the snow finally melted in late spring of 1881, huge sections of the plains were flooded. Massive ice jams clogged the Missouri River and when they broke the downstream areas were ravaged. Most of the town of Yankton, in what is now South Dakota, was washed away when the river overflowed its banks.[7][8] [edit]The Storm of the Century Under the weight of snow, a tree falls next to a car in Asheville, North Carolina The Storm of the Century, also known as the Great Blizzard 1993, was a large cyclonicstorm that formed over the Gulf of Mexico on March 12, 1993, and dissipated in the North Atlantic Ocean on March 15. It is unique for its intensity, massive size and wide-reaching effect. At its height, the storm stretched from Canada towards Central America, but its main impact was on the Eastern United States and Cuba. The cyclone moved through the Gulf of Mexico, and then through the Eastern United States before moving into Canada. Areas as far south as central Alabama and Georgia received 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) of snow and areas such as Birmingham, Alabama, received up to 12 inches (30 cm) with isolated reports of 16 inches (41 cm). Even the Florida Panhandle reported up to 4 inches (10 cm),[9] withhurricane-force wind gusts and record low barometric pressures. Between Louisiana and Cuba, hurricane-force winds produced high storm surges across northwestern Florida, which along with scattered tornadoes killed dozens of people. Record cold temperatures were seen across portions of the South and East in the wake of this storm. In the United States, the storm was responsible for the loss of electric power to over 10 million customers. It is purported to have been directly experienced by nearly 40 percent of the country's population at that time. A total of 310 people, including 10 from Cuba, perished during this storm.