A Freezing Rain Kinda Day

Freezing rain.
Is it rain that’s frozen?
Then wouldn’t it be hail?
Or is it hail that’s turned back to rain?
What exactly is “freezing rain?”

One of the biggest adjustments we’ve had to make with our bi-coastal move is the weather.  We Central/Northern Californians have a weather vocabulary that consists of two words … it’s either hot or wet.  And when it’s hot, it’s blazing.  And when it’s wet, it’s pretty wet.  And the temperatures … from our part of the world, 40 was freezing.

Now we have a new vocabulary … sleet, freezing rain, snow, wintry mix, ice storm, humidity, thunderstorms, lightning, flash floods, blizzards, tornadoes, well, you get the idea.   As a matter of fact, it’s entirely possible that you could achieve any combination of these phenomenons in one day, which actually happened here on January 31.

From what I’ve been told, though, today’s forecast … freezing rain … is by far about the worst that you could ask for on a winter day, especially if you have to actually leave the comforts of your home.

So what exactly is freezing rain?

According to Weather.About.com,

Freezing Rain happens when precipitation falls in liquid form as raindrops and immediately freezes as it hits most any surface. This can occur as rain or snow falls through a deep layer of warm air aloft. This warmer layer is usually 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sub-freezing layer. This turns the snow to rain or keeps the rain in liquid form. As the rain falls, it passes through a very cold, but shallow layer of cold air at the surface and once it hits the ground, trees, cars or other items it freezes and forms a coating or glaze over the surfaces.

It is important to note that freezing rain is in liquid form until it strikes a cold surface. The water droplets are supercooled and freeze on contact. Just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, conditions must be just right. If the cold layer near the ground is too deep, the rain will freeze again and fall as ice pellets or sleet. If the cold layer is too shallow, it will simply rain.

Hmmm … sounds like it’s definitely a stay-inside-‘kinda-day.  Kids agree, and apparently so do the schools, because depending on when said “freezing rain” is scheduled to commence, it can either cause a 2-hour delay or cancellation altogether, something else quite new to our vocabulary.

Although freezing rain is quite scary and something to be extremely cautious of, I have found it makes for some serenely beautiful pictures.  Please be careful if your forecast calls for freezing rain … the roads are icy and slick, the ice will cause tree limbs to break and fall from the weight, electrical / power lines can come down, etc.

While your staying safe inside, here’s a few pictures of what freezing rain can leave behind.

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“Out of the south comes the storm,
And out of the north the cold.
From the breath of God ice is made,
And the expanse of the waters is frozen.”
… Job 37:9-10 (NASB)

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Join the Conversation:  Do you have freezing rain in your neck of the woods?