What is freezing rain and how to deal with its consequences? Ice rain Ice rain in Krasnodar.
Freezing rain is a fairly rare occurrence. But thousands of people living in different parts of Russia managed to witness it. What causes freezing rain? What are its consequences? Let's figure this out together.
Features of a natural phenomenon
Rain can be different: cold and warm, with small raindrops and large drops, straight and oblique. Sometimes it literally rains down from the heavens. Scientists are still arguing about the process by which this natural phenomenon occurred. But they all agree on one thing: freezing rain is a weather anomaly.
After many years of research and observation, specialists were able to identify some patterns. Freezing rain, a photo of which is attached to the article, occurs at air temperatures from 0 to -10 °C. This happens when cold and warm air masses collide. Being in the upper layer, snowflakes melt, but when moving to the lower layer they immediately turn into ice. If you go outside after freezing rain and carefully examine the precipitation, you can see hollow balls of water. They break when they fall to the ground. The water pours out of them and immediately freezes, causing the surface (soil, lawns, roads) to become covered with an ice crust.
Freezing rain in Moscow
In December 2010, residents and guests of the capital witnessed freezing rain. It started suddenly. In the weather forecasts compiled and announced by weather forecasters, not a word was said about this. People were caught off guard by the night's freezing rain. Photos of icy roads, buildings, cars and trees were published in print media and on Internet portals the next day.
An unusual natural phenomenon literally paralyzed the city's transport system. There was a power outage at airports. Several dozen flights were delayed. It took utility workers more than a day to fix the problems that arose. The damage amounted to millions of rubles. Owners of cars and buildings with advertising signs were affected. Dozens of trees were also damaged.
Freezing rain in Krasnodar
An unusual natural phenomenon was observed in one of the warmest regions of Russia. We are talking about the Krasnodar region. On the night of January 21, 2014, the services of Kubanenergo OJSC were alerted. It was freezing rain for several hours. At night, specialists began to eliminate its consequences.
The southwest of the Krasnodar Territory suffered the most. These include Anapa and the Crimean region. Thousands of local residents were left without electricity. Repair crews worked in emergency mode and in bad weather conditions. Some consumers have been able to “feed” on backup circuits all this time.
During the daytime, the situation in the Krasnodar Territory improved slightly. But in some places there was severe ice. The regional emergency department says there are no casualties or injuries. The consequences of the freezing rain included scratched cars and downed trees. Transport operations were paralyzed for several hours, causing municipal transport companies and ordinary taxi drivers to suffer considerable damage.
Consequences of freezing rain
Many people underestimate the seriousness and danger of this natural phenomenon. The ice layer formed on wires and tree branches occupies a large area. Therefore, it is not surprising that power lines are broken, cars and plants are damaged.
Roads covered with ice are no less dangerous for people. In this situation, the number of accidents increases and the injury rate increases.
Additionally
The skin of aircraft and ships suffers the most from the effects of freezing rain. Falling out of this in large quantities can lead to disaster - loss of control of the aircraft or sinking of the ship.
Don't blame meteorologists for everything. They argue that it is almost impossible to predict this natural phenomenon.
Safety rules
Each of us knows that during icy conditions we should be extremely careful and attentive. When moving on a slippery road surface, you need to watch your step. One wrong step and injury is guaranteed. After the freezing rain stops, wear shoes with ridged soles. Try to avoid frozen trees. There were frequent cases when branches broke under the weight of the ice crust and fell on passers-by.
To free your car from snow captivity, perform the following steps:
1. Carefully open the door and get inside. Many people in such a situation begin to pour boiling water on the doors. But this is a huge mistake. Due to exposure to boiling water, the paint will crack, and after some time corrosion will begin. If you do not want to get a similar result, then listen to the advice of experts. They recommend using a heating pad filled with hot water. Apply it to the lock for a couple of minutes. Then slightly swing the door. The ice at the junction should crack. And then the door will open without hindrance.
2. If you managed to get into the salon, then immediately start the engine, turn on the heater and headlights. All this will help warm up the car.
3. When the windows become warmer, try to clear them of ice using a scraper. Until this moment, you should not turn on the wipers.
4. When the car has more or less thawed, you can go to the nearest car wash, where professionals will use water pressure to knock off the remaining pieces of ice.
In conclusion
Now you know what freezing rain is. We also examined in detail the features of its appearance and consequences.
Freezing rain is precipitation in the form of transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 millimeters. Inside these balls there is unfrozen water. Ice rain is formed in the event of a temperature inversion - a reverse, anomalous temperature distribution. As a rule, with increasing altitude the air becomes colder, but in the zone of passage of warm atmospheric fronts it sometimes happens that cold air accumulates in the surface layers, and warmer air masses are located above it. Raindrops falling from warm clouds, flying through a layer with a negative temperature, turn into ice balls with water inside. Colliding with a hard surface when falling, these balls break into shells. The water flows out, forming a beautiful but dangerous ice crust. With freezing rains, injuries increase and the number of road accidents increases. They destroy trees that break under the weight of icy branches,
animals and birds are deprived of food. This natural phenomenon breaks electrical wires and paralyzes vehicles, turning them into ice blocks.
In Russia, freezing rain is most often observed in the Southern, Volga, and Central federal districts, as well as in the Leningrad, Pskov, and Novgorod regions. Many people remember the freezing rain that occurred in the Moscow region on December 26, 2010. The ice shell that covered everything around then reached a thickness of three centimeters. More than 50 thousand trees died. A real natural disaster caused numerous power line breaks and led to transport collapse due to icing
The schedule had to be changed, and the work of Domodedovo Airport was completely stopped. More than 400 thousand people were temporarily left without electric lighting. The damage from this freezing rain amounted to more than 200 billion rubles. At the end of November 2012, freezing rain again hit the Moscow region, causing damage to transport and power lines. Cars and green spaces were again damaged. But the damage that time was less - it was due to the fact that the freezing rain happened in the daytime against the backdrop of a thaw, so its consequences were not destructive. However, meteorologists don't consider freezing rain to be a common occurrence. Rather, these are natural anomalies that do not happen very often. Still, it’s worth knowing how to prepare for them and how to deal with their consequences.
During and immediately after freezing rain, it is, of course, best to stay home. But if you still need to go outside, try to be extremely careful, avoid particularly slippery places and do not make sudden movements.
During freezing rain, try to protect your face and hands to prevent the sharp edges of frozen droplets from damaging exposed skin. It is better to leave the car in the parking lot and, if possible, use public transport. But if you do have to get behind the wheel, drive as carefully as possible, avoid sudden braking, reduce maneuvering to a minimum and maintain an increased interval. To free a frozen car
from the ice crust, use a heating pad with hot water. To open a frozen door, gently rock it until the ice cracks at the joint. Warm up the car, clean the windows with a scraper and go to a car wash, where the ice crust will be knocked off with water pressure. Let us remind you that on the evening of Monday, November 7, freezing rain again covered Moscow and the Moscow region. Streets and trees were covered with a thin shiny crust, and car owners had to free their cars from glass captivity. In addition, freezing rain caused the Lastochka and Sapsan trains to stop - due to icing of the wires, the trains could not move,
Life.ru reports. Meanwhile, forecasters warn that until December 20 the weather in the capital region will be unstable. Earlier, the director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, Roman Vilfand, said that the average temperature in January would be -9.2. These frosts are close to normal, but the winter will be much colder than last year. As Dni.Ru wrote, real winter will come to Moscow on November 11-12. The night temperature will drop to -10, during the day it is expected to drop to -5 in the capital, and to -8 in the region.
Do you know what freezing rain is?
Let's figure out what it is, how it affects the current activities of the facility and what priority measures need to be taken to minimize the negative consequences.
In November 2016, bad weather visited central Russia. As it always happens, on an unexpected scale.
In 20-30 minutes, ice drops falling from the sky covered everything around with a crust of ice - asphalt, paving stones, steps, canopies, stair handrails. At the exits from underground parking lots, mirrors froze, dome video cameras went blind...
The culprit of all this fun is freezing rain, precipitation falling from clouds during a temperature inversion, i.e. in a situation where there is cold air near the ground, and above it there is a layer of warmer air with a positive temperature. The phenomenon is observed relatively rarely, but, unfortunately, it brings a certain amount of trouble.
Weather forecasters' forecasts about the possibility of precipitation in the form of freezing rain must be taken as responsibly as possible. If the forecasts come true, and the services are not ready, your facility will become a place where it will become completely impossible to move around the territory; people with a 90% probability are injured as a result of falls on ice; vehicles located on the territory may well be damaged by fallen trees, and Tenants, with a clear conscience, will photograph the resulting apocalypse and post comments on social networks with various and impartial comments…. Next, you can just use your imagination a little.
To minimize the effects of freezing rain, prepare yourself and train your staff in advance. I have already written that a supply of de-icing agents should always be on site during the winter. This is an axiom that does not require proof. It is important that cleaning staff are prepared for this weather event. People must clearly know who does what, and in what order: how, in what proportions and in what volume to prepare a mixture of de-icing reagents, in what quantities the mixture should be used, where first and where last; when it is necessary to begin collecting the melted mass and, of course, people should have a clear idea of the criteria for the final result. All of the above should be understood as a guide to action. Treat staff work in freezing rain as standard procedure. Formulate and implement it, train your staff. Instruct the cleaning service - coherence of actions at “hour x” is guaranteed.
Be prudent yourself - warn the Tenants of the complex in advance using. Inform that the weather is expected to worsen; explain that it is necessary to be attentive on the territory and in the halls of buildings; inform that the Management Company will take all necessary measures to promptly clear the area from ice and snow masses. Recommend Tenants not to park personal vehicles under trees. Ask Tenants to be understanding of the situation. These seemingly small details contain the very essence of quality services. Do this and the result will please you.
At the first sign of freezing rain, begin treating the area immediately. Areas in front of building entrances, pedestrian paths on the territory, especially ascents and descents; stairs, smoking areas, bus stops, emergency routes (street part) should be treated first.
Regarding chemicals, I note that a lot here depends on the requirements for the condition of the coatings on the territory and, of course, entirely depends on the budget. In my opinion, the most effective is to use the following materials together:
- granite chips fr. 2-5 mm;
- industrial salt (halite concentrate);
- ICEMELT (compacted sodium calcium chloride);
- anti-icing reagent ICEHIT MAGNUM (Bishofite-Magnesium Chloride, corrosion inhibitor)
In a situation of freezing rain, it is most effective to use a mixture prepared in the following proportion:
- Reagent – 2 denominations (2*25 kg)
- Salt – 1 denomination (20-25 kg)
- Granite chips – 1 denomination (25 kg)
The three given components will work together as follows: the reagent will melt the ice in the shortest possible time to the state of a moving mass; salt will not allow this mass to harden for a relatively long time; granite chips will significantly increase the friction properties of the surface.
Where can I prepare this mixture? Be smart. The easiest option is to use a large front loader bucket or a small wheel loader bucket (Bobcat). Pour the materials into the ladle, approximately observing the proportions, mix with a regular shovel - the mixture is ready. Next, we quickly load the mixture into construction wheelbarrows (I hope you have them), load the mixture into them and direct the personnel (janitors) along predetermined routes.
Please note that the mass melted with such a mixture remains mobile for 2, maximum 2.5 hours. If you don’t have time to remove it, you will end up with “permafrost,” which will be much more difficult to deal with.
Attention must be paid to the trees growing on the territory. A serious visual inspection after the end of freezing rain is essential. If you find broken branches or broken tree tops, promptly call a bucket truck and hire certified professionals to perform pruning work. Please note that the cuts must be treated with special preparations for healing wounds on trees - “Artificial bark”. After application, the product forms a powerful protective film, which is well tolerated by the plant and adheres well to the wood, providing protection from diseases and pests. As a last resort, in the absence of a specialized preparation, use ordinary oil paint; paint is quite suitable as a temporary solution. Most importantly, do not forget to plan for the spring a comprehensive inspection of trees and protective treatment of wounds using a special balm, such as Etisso.