The hidden dangers of ice storms. Here's what you need to know
Here are some ice storm facts and the hidden dangers of ice storms and potential ice storm damage.
What is an ice storm?
Ice storms can have a much more crippling effect than a snowstorm.
Ice storms can wreak havoc across cities, causing loss of power and creating slippery situations across town, but what are ice storms, what are the hidden dangers of ice storms, and what kind of damage do ice storms cause?
Ice storms happen during freezing rain events
No, ice doesn't magically fall from the sky like "Frozen" for it to be considered an ice storm. Ice storms actually happen during freezing rain events. Supercooled rain will fall, and when the surface is at or below freezing, that rain will freeze on impact.
FILE - Ice glazes tree limbs in Myersville, Maryland on December 15, 2022. Freezing rain fell on parts of the area as winter sets in.
(Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post / Getty Images)
Heavy ice accretion can bring down trees and topple utility poles
Once freezing rain falls, it accretes onto an object. The weight of the ice continues to increase on the object, like trees or utility poles, and then will cause those objects to snap or fall.
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File: Damage from an ice storm in Kentucky USA.
(Getty Images)
There doesn't need to be a lot of ice for it to be dangerous
Small accumulations of ice can be extremely dangerous to motorists and pedestrians. During ice storms, ice accumulations are considered significant at only a quarter of an inch.
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Sgt. Lane demonstrates the icy parking lot at the South Bend Police Station on Jan. 29, 2023.
(South Bend (Indiana) Police Department / FOX Weather)
Ice Storm Warnings have specific criteria
An ice storm warning is issued when an ice storm event is expected to meet or exceed local ice storm warning criteria in the next 12 to 36 hours. Criteria for ice is 1/2 inch or more over at least 50 percent of the zone or encompassing most of the population.
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File: A person crosses the street as iced-over tree branches are seen after freezing rain hit parts of Quebec and Ontario in Montreal, Canada, on April 5, 2023.
(ANDREJ IVANOV / AFP / Getty Images)
Bridges and overpasses are particularly dangerous during ice storms
Elevated surfaces freeze before other surfaces. Other elevated surfaces will likely freeze before other surfaces are on the ground.
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An image showing why bridges and overpasses will freeze before a road does.
(FOX Forecast Center / FOX Weather)
Snow can hide ice
If you have snow falling after a freezing rain event, this can be very dangerous, especially with cold air present. What may seem just a light dusting of snow could potentially hide a thick layer of ice.
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File: Road appeared snow-covered near Raleigh's airport.
(NC DOT / FOX Weather)
Black ice is just as hazardous
Black ice can also be a culprit that causes severe accidents. If you have an ice storm during the day, and the ice melts, but temperatures are to reach below freezing at night, this can cause black ice. When there is residual moisture on surfaces, like roads, it can freeze when temperatures dip below freezing overnight. This creates black ice and is not able to be seen easily.
File: Emergency crews responded to reports of an 18-car pileup due to black ice early Monday morning in Fort Montgomery, New York.
(Fort Montgomery Fire Department/Facebook / FOX Weather)