FreezingRainRed

Freezing Rain
Annika J and Taylor V Red Class

Introduction
=== Freezing rain occurs when rain droplets that are below freezing but still a cloud, come in contact with the surface of the ground. (Below 0˚F) Later in the process of the the rain drops become super- cooled as they come in contact with the Earth's surface(3). These storms typically occur in the Northern Hemisphere, such as; Canada, Illinois, or New York(4). Freezing rain is similar to sleet but hail is already frozen when it falls out of the sky, freezing rain freezes into ice on contact with ground===

Dangers
=== Freezing rain can be a dangerous form of weather sometimes. It can cause **car accidents**, **power outages** and **personal injury**. Power outages are very common during periods of freezing rain. Tree limbs coated in ice can break off under the enormous weight of this ice and fall onto nearby power lines. Also, When droplets of freezing rain reach the ground they conform to the shape of the ground, causing treacherous driving and walking conditions. Lastly, freezing rain is a large hazard to aircraft, causing icing on the plane's body.(5) Furthermore, this icing can stick to the engine and create problems and add weight to the plane or helicopter.(3) Check out this video to see some dangers: === [|Freezing rain dangers]

Conditions of Formation
===Freezing rain is most commonly created in a narrow band on the cold side of a warm front, where ground surface temperatures are at or just below freezing and the rain from a warm air mass passes through a cold air mass below. The warm front pushes the warm air up and as air rises it and cools. But since cold air does not have the capacity to hold moisture like warm air does, the air becomes saturated and reaches dewpoint, condensing and turning into clouds, and precipitation starts, the warm air causes this rain to (2) develop as falling snow encounters a layer of warm air deep enough for the snow to completely melt and later become rain. (3) As the rain continues to fall, passes through a thin layer of cold air just above the surface and cools to a temperature below 32˚F. However, the drops themselves do not freeze, a process called supercooling (or forming "supercooled-drops"). As the water cools it's molecules starts to slow down in motion enough to line up as a six-sided ice crystals(1). When the supercooled drops strike ground, power lines, tree branches, aircraft, or anything else below 0 °C (32 °F), they instantly freeze, forming a thin film of ice, hence freezing rain. (3) === =

Historical Examples

==A freezing rain storm occurred in Eastern Ontario, 1942. The storm lasted from December 28-30th. A snow storm followed the freezing rain storm. The notes below were our understanding and magnified notes of what happened in 1942:==


 * Millions of dollars of damage was caused throughout these few days. Telephone service was out for more than a month. Wind speeds recorded up to 90mph(4)**
 * (click here for the website that shares more information on the storms->[|Major Freezing Rain storms.]**
 * Freezing rain storms can obviously be a dangerous hazard when they hit a very populated place.**

Safety
=== There are few ways of protecting yourself during an "ice storm" (freezing rain). The best way of protecting oneself would be to stay indoors, under a strong roof and certainly off the roads.(2) For one reason, when the rain is falling, it is colder than freezing but not frozen. So when it comes in contact with the ground, it freezes immediately. So it would be very dangerous to drive. Or be outside in general for that matter. Click here for a safety advisory video:[|Freezing rain storm] ===