Ice storms

In today’s society there are differences in many communities. These communities are on both the east and west coast, and in the Midwest. The residents of these communities experience various weather climates ranging from warm temperatures to blizzards and ice storms.

why ice storms Happen?

        An ice storm happens when a warm air mass collides with a cold air mass. Many ice storms happen every year. They include cold temperatures, precipitation, and strong winds. The process of an ice storm is when some water vapor from the warm air condenses into clouds. Snowflakes fall from the clouds into the warm air and melts into raindrops. Th rain drops fall through a cold air layer near the ground and doesn't freeze thoroughly until it hits something colder that it. This can get up to 8 inches thick! Sleet is similar to frozen rain but it doesn't cause as severe damage. It can easily be shoveled off of sidewalks and streets.

  

   

v  Ice storms — also referred to as glaze storms — are common in valleys and foothills.

v  Ice accumulates when super-cold rain freezes on contact with surfaces, such as tree branches, that are below freezing point.

v  Throughout the U.S., ice storms occur most often during the months of December and January, usually during the coldest part of the day: sunrise.

v  Ice storms have the bizarre effect of entombing everything in the landscape with a glaze of ice so heavy that it can split trees in half and turn roads and pavements into lethal sheets of smooth, thick ice.

v  Branches or whole trees may break from the weight of ice. Fallen branches can block roadways, tear down power and telephone lines, and cause other serious and minor damage.

v  The weight of ice can easily snap power lines and break or bring down power/utility poles, leaving homes without power for anywhere from a day to a month.

v  According to most meteorologists, just one quarter of an inch of ice accumulation can add 500 pounds of weight per line span. Ice storms are capable of shutting down entire cities with damage.

v  Driving during an ice storm is extremely hazardous, because ice can cause vehicles to skid out of control, leading to devastating car crashes.

v  Pedestrians must be cautious as sidewalks become icy and it is easy to slip and fall. Stairways also become an extreme injury hazard once coated with ice.

  

Worst ice storms in history 

One of the damaging and costly ice storms in recent history struck North America in January, 1998. Phone and power lines collapsed, electricity pylons buckled, and 4 million people were left without power. 25 people were killed by falling ice or fires set by collapsing electrical units. The total damage cost around $1 billion.

The major ice storm that struck the Northeastern U.S. in December, 2008 left 1.25 million homes and businesses without power. In what was described as the worst storm of the decade, a state of emergency was declared in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and parts of Maine.

Winter Storm Pax: Power Outages Remain in South Carolina, Georgia

Winter Storm Pax has long since passed through the South, but some residents of Georgia and South Carolina are still in the dark following the storm.

About 100,000 utility customers have awoken to a fifth day without power in South Carolina.

New England 1921

one of the most prominent ice storm alleys in the U.S. is the interior Northeast, from northern Pennsylvania, central and upstate New York into New England.

In the days after Thanksgiving 1921, a four-day ice storm with accumulations over three inches in spots, crippled parts of New England, including the city of Worcester.

New Year's Eve 1978 (North Texas)

There have been many ice storms in Texas history.

Six inches of ice accumulated in parts of northwest Texas on Jan. 22-24, 1940, according to Weather Underground's Christopher Burt.

New Year's Eve 1978 was the worst ice storm in North Texas in three decades, producing ice accumulations up to 2 inches thick in a 100 mile-wide swath from just west of Waco to Paris, Texas.

January 2000 (Atlanta)

The timing couldn't have been worse, and the impact of this ice storm continues to this day in Atlanta.

The week before Super Bowl XXXIV, an ice storm left half a million customers without power, some for more than a week. Just days later, another winter storm hit Atlanta on Super Bowl weekend.

New Year's 1961 (Northern Idaho)

The most destructive ice storms feature heavy ice accumulation, sometimes on the order of several inches, that, when combined with strong winds, bring down trees and power lines, plunge hundreds of thousands into the dark sometimes for several days.