Warm Air Up There Matters!
Written by: Scott Hetsko
As many of us who lived in Western New York the past 20 years, ice storms are often the most destructive of winter storms. The 1991 storm glazed trees and power lines with 1-2" of ice. Nearly 325,000 were without power at the height of the storm. A slight change in air temperature just a few thousand feet up makes all the difference! When warm air confronts cold air, it rises up and over the cold air because it's lighter. This "thumb" of warm air, if thick enough, can change snow over to sleet or freezing rain. Freezing rain is the most serious ice concern because of the weight it adds to trees and power lines. No significant ice storms are in our forecast this week!
I'll never forget the crackling of the trees after the ice storm of 1991. Everything was so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteEerily so, but beautiful. Scott, question: The ice portion of the storm in the midwest looks huge. Does your graphic example apply to this storm? If so, what is causing it to remain this way for so long?
You're right, about one inch of ice collected on trees and power lines in the mid west from the weekend storm. Our 1991 storm recorded 1-2" of freezing rain. What sustained the recent ice storm was a constant feed of cold air on a Northerly wind. Temperatures were able to stay below freezing within a few hundred feet of the surface while warmer air melted the snow falling aloft.
ReplyDeleteScott Hetsko