Mmm, I could sure go for some wintry mix right about now
By adamg - Sun, 12/09/2007 - 3:45pm.
Mike Wankum: Freezing rain is probably the least understood of all the winter precipitation.
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Mike Wankum: Freezing rain is probably the least understood of all the winter precipitation.
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I think someone at channel 5 is a giants fan!
Look at their RSS feed - http://html.thebostonchannel.com/sh/blogger/rss.xml
Get used to it
If you plan to be around for the next 50 years, we will have the climate of the mid-Atlantic states and will have to get to know ZR a bit better.
Having spent my teen years in Western Oregon, the "Silver Thaw" is like an old friend. My father, a retired highway engineer, makes really good money from consulting on how to handle the lovely sky-ice, from Northern California to British Columbia and Alberta.
The trick is to get the tanker trucks out spraying salt water before the storm (much less salt, much more effective coverage than throwing the dry stuff around), and don't even think of trying to plow the stuff unless step 1 was successful.
That's why my driveway is white tonight. I'm ready.
Spraying salt water?
Won't that run off into neighboring yards and fields, killing vegetation and crops?
Salt Water
Spraying salt water results in much less run off than hurling massive quantities of salt crystals off the back of a truck and hoping they stick around. Far less salt is used in applying brine as it is much more precisely applied. It is sprayed directly onto the road surface, where it is needed, not scattered around such that a bit of it stays put but most ends up where it damages nature and infrastructure.
An example of some of Daddio's and his partner Dale's finest work right here.
Sounds like an excellent idea, SwirlyGrrl,
and a good way to protect more people from having ice-related accidents in their cars or on foot while protecting nature and her infrastructure.
Wintry Mix
Kind of sounds like a flavor of hot cocoa.
Speaking of - that gives me an idea right about now....
www.thebigredblog.com
Pearls of my own:
While the article in the above-posted link makes a valid point about snow providing a gripping traction for the tires, while freezing rain or sleet makes for a more hazardous driving situation, there's yet another factor that comes into play: Outside temperature(s).
If, for example, the temperature outside is right around the freezing range (i. e. 32-33 degrees Fahrenheit), it makes for much more hazardous driving conditions, whether the precipipation is freezing rain or snow! One must be especially careful, whether driving, or traveling on foot when the outside temperatures are right at freezing.
On the other hand, sometimes, if the outside temperatures dip well below the freezing range and therefore the snow freezes up really hard, the tires can and sometimes will have a better grip. That, however, depends on how much snow is on the ground also, however.