What is an ice storm?
Ice storms can have a much more crippling effect than a snowstorm.
What is an ice storm?
Ice storms can have a much more crippling effect than a snowstorm.
When most people think of winter weather, they think of a blizzard or a mass amount of snow.
Ice storms often get forgot of because you rarely hear of them as they are overshadowed by blizzards, but the problem is that ice storms can have a much more crippling effect than a snowstorm.
By definition, an ice storm is when there are damaging accumulations of ice during a freezing rain situation.
Freezing rain accumulation during the North American Ice Storm of December 2013: House Garden Fence Close to an Avenue.
(Getty Images)
Ice accumulations are not the same as snow accumulations. Significant ice accumulations are a quarter of an inch or greater, whereas, with snow, several inches to a foot could be considered as significant.
Significant accumulations of ice can pull down trees and utility lines which can result in a loss of power. Even a small accumulation of ice on roads or walkways is very dangerous and could potentially cause serious accidents.
Damage from an ice storm in Kentucky, USA.
(Getty Images)
Bridges and overpasses are often the first to freeze before other surfaces and can be particularly dangerous.
There is also a hazard of black ice after an ice storm.
Black ice is patchy ice on roadways that cannot be easily seen. Black ice often forms when either snow or ice melts during the day and refreezes when temperatures drop below freezing again.