Falling out of clouds at negative air temperatures (most often 0...−10°, sometimes up to −15°) in the form of transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 mm. There is unfrozen water inside the balls - when falling on objects, the balls break into shells, the water flows out and ice forms.
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Links
- Weather review from 12/26/2010
- (Russian) . News agency "Meteonovosti" (December 12, 2013). Retrieved December 12, 2013.
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Excerpt describing Icy Rain
Princess Marya interrupted him.“Oh, that would be so terrible...” she began and, without finishing from excitement, with a graceful movement (like everything she did in front of him), bowing her head and looking at him gratefully, she followed her aunt.
In the evening of that day, Nikolai did not go anywhere to visit and stayed at home in order to settle some scores with the horse sellers. When he finished his business, it was already too late to go anywhere, but it was still too early to go to bed, and Nikolai walked up and down the room alone for a long time, pondering his life, which rarely happened to him.
Princess Marya made a pleasant impression on him near Smolensk. The fact that he met her then in such special conditions, and the fact that it was her at one time that his mother pointed out to him as a rich match, made him pay special attention to her. In Voronezh, during his visit, the impression was not only pleasant, but strong. Nikolai was amazed at the special, moral beauty that he noticed in her this time. However, he was about to leave, and it did not occur to him to regret that by leaving Voronezh, he would be deprived of the opportunity to see the princess. But the current meeting with Princess Marya in the church (Nicholas felt it) sank deeper into his heart than he foresaw, and deeper than he desired for his peace of mind. This pale, thin, sad face, this radiant look, these quiet, graceful movements and most importantly - this deep and tender sadness, expressed in all her features, disturbed him and demanded his participation. Rostov could not stand to see in men the expression of a higher, spiritual life (that’s why he did not like Prince Andrei), he contemptuously called it philosophy, dreaminess; but in Princess Marya, precisely in this sadness, which showed the full depth of this spiritual world alien to Nicholas, he felt an irresistible attraction.
“She must be a wonderful girl! That's exactly the angel! - he spoke to himself. “Why am I not free, why did I hurry up with Sonya?” And involuntarily he imagined a comparison between the two: poverty in one and wealth in the other of those spiritual gifts that Nicholas did not have and which therefore he valued so highly. He tried to imagine what would happen if he were free. How would he propose to her and she would become his wife? No, he couldn't imagine this. He felt terrified, and no clear images appeared to him. With Sonya, he had long ago drawn up a future picture for himself, and all of this was simple and clear, precisely because it was all made up, and he knew everything that was in Sonya; but it was impossible to imagine a future life with Princess Marya, because he did not understand her, but only loved her.
At the end of December, central Russia was hit by a natural disaster called freezing rain. Here in St. Petersburg, such a phenomenon is predicted for January 9th. Let's hope the predictions don't come true. And yet, what is freezing rain? The most common and often copied in RuNet, even on specialized portals, is this definition from Russian Wikipedia: “Ice rain - solid precipitation, falling at negative air temperatures (most often 0...-10°, sometimes up to -15°) in the form of solid transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 mm. Inside the balls there is unfrozen water - when falling on objects, the balls break into shells, the water flows out and ice forms.” I can't believe it. Such small balls, there is water inside. It's ice outside. The design is too complex. Doubt arises. Is it true?
It must be said that for Russia, especially its northern part, this phenomenon is not very common. The heaviest freezing rains occur annually in America. There they are called “freezing rain” and they often turn into ice storms. Let's take a look at the American Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org, so to speak, to the experts.
So, freezing rain forms when a phenomenon occurs in the atmosphere in which a layer of warm air gets trapped between two layers of cold air. The moisture (snow) frozen in the upper cold layer melts, falling into the warm layer. Snow turns to rain in a fairly high layer with a pressure of about 80 kPa. Continuing to fall from a great height and at a decent speed, raindrops near the ground fall into a layer with a temperature below zero, but do not turn into snow or ice, but into a supercooled state of water. (This condition was observed by everyone who tried to freeze the triple point of water using the saline solution method). This condition is especially dangerous because any shaking leads to instant hardening of the liquid. Supercooled drops when hitting the ground, tree branches, etc. immediately turn to ice. Therefore, it is still rain, but icy. A very serious test for trees, each branch of which is sealed, becoming very fragile, like crystal.
A thick layer of ice can cause serious damage to nature and humans. This phenomenon is also dangerous for power lines, as it leads to their breakage. And in the mountains, as a result of freezing rain, the ice of glaciers can become so compacted that it is difficult to cut even with an ice ax.
The US National Weather Service classifies freezing rain as an ice storm if a layer of ice more than 0.25 inches (0.64 cm) thick forms on an exposed surface. Meteorologists admit that freezing rain cannot always be predicted in advance.
The thickest layer of ice from a single ice storm was recorded in 1961 in Idaho. It measured 8 inches (20.3 cm).
On December 25, 2010, freezing rain fell in Moscow and the Moscow region. According to preliminary results summed up by the authorities of Moscow and the region, about 4.6 thousand trees were knocked down in Moscow, which led to numerous power line breaks. More than 400 thousand people were left without electricity, and Domodedovo Airport was also completely cut off. Due to falling branches and entire trees, 27 people were injured and one died. As a result of the ice, 1,350 people were injured in two days. In 2010, several cases of freezing rain and intense ice were also recorded in the Ural and Volga Federal Districts. In the city of Troitsk (Chelyabinsk region), schools were closed for two days due to ice; in Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, many kilometers of traffic jams occurred on roads. A huge traffic jam formed on the M5 highway (Moscow - Chelyabinsk) in the Zlatoust area due to the fact that multi-ton trucks could not climb the slope. Breaks in power lines, overhead communication lines and obstruction of vehicle traffic were also observed in a number of areas of the Samara and Ulyanovsk regions, and the Republic of Tatarstan. (information from ru.wikidpedia.org).
We wish you a good winter so that supercooled water falls to the Earth less often. It’s better to let the usual Russian fluffy snow fall.
Last updated 02/08/2016
On Tuesday, February 9, freezing rain is expected in Moscow. Forecasters from the Phobos weather center reported this.
“This week will be marked by a lot of freezing rain. Precipitation will be light, weak character, but they will be characterized precisely by a periodic transition from the mixed phase to the freezing rain phase. Moreover, it could be on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and especially strong on Sunday evening, turning into Monday night,” said the center’s forecaster.
What is freezing rain?
Freezing rain is an atmospheric phenomenon that occurs due to the difference in temperature at the height of the passage of the rain front and at the surface of the earth. It refers to the so-called “cover” precipitation, which falls monotonously over a fairly long period of time.
It all happens like this: below, above the surface of the earth, there is cold air(freezing rain traditionally occurs at temperatures from -1 to -15 degrees Celsius), and above it there is a layer of more warm air. Raindrops approaching the ground freeze very quickly - but only from the outside. It turns out that freezing rain consists of solid transparent balls of ice, inside of which there is unfrozen water.
As they fall, the balls split, the liquid pours out and quickly freezes, forming ice on the asphalt and an ice crust on other surfaces (on tree branches, roofs of houses, cars, etc.).
Note! In weather science, there is also such a thing as “snow showers” - but, unlike prolonged freezing rain, it refers to rainfall characterized by sudden onset and abrupt change intensity. It happens at above-zero temperatures and is dangerous because it sharply reduces visibility.
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. Freezing rain forms when temperature inversion- 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, Central federal districts, as well as in the Leningrad, Pskov, 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 a 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 average temperature in January it will 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.
