Freezing rain in Russian cities. Freezing Rain and Six Other Unusual Winter Natural Phenomena

At the end of December, the central part of Russia fell under the power of a natural disaster called freezing rain. 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 the following definition from the Russian Wikipedia: “Freezing rain is solid atmospheric precipitation that falls at negative air temperatures (most often 0 ... -10 °, sometimes up to -15 °) in the form hard transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 mm. There is unfrozen water inside the balls - falling on objects, the balls break into shells, water flows out and ice forms. I don't believe it. Such small balls, inside the water. Ice outside. Too complicated design. Doubt arises. Is it true?

I must say 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 "ice storm". Let's look at the American Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org, so to speak, to the experts.

So, freezing rain is formed when a phenomenon occurs in the atmosphere in which a layer of warm air falls between two layers of cold air. The moisture (snow) frozen in the upper cold layer melts, falling into the warm layer. Snow turns into 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 they do not turn into snow or ice, but into a supercooled state of water. (This condition has been observed by everyone who has tried to freeze the triple point of water using the saline method). This condition is especially dangerous because any shaking leads to an instantaneous solidification of the liquid. Supercooled droplets on impact with the ground, tree branches, etc. immediately turn to ice. Therefore, it is still rain, but freezing. A very serious test for trees, each branch of which is sealed, becomes 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 be so compacted that it is difficult to cut it even with an ice ax.

The US National Weather Service classifies a freezing rain as an ice storm if a layer of ice over 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. He was 8 inches (20.3 cm).

On December 25, 2010, freezing rain fell in Moscow and the Moscow region. According to the preliminary results, which were summed up by the authorities of Moscow and the region, about 4.6 thousand trees were felled in Moscow, which led to numerous breaks in power lines. More than 400,000 people were left without electricity, and Domodedovo airport was also completely de-energized. Due to falling branches and whole trees, 27 people were injured, one died. As a result of icy conditions, 1,350 people were injured in two days. In 2010, several cases of freezing rain and intense ice were also recorded in the Urals and Volga Federal Districts. In the city of Troitsk (Chelyabinsk region), schools were closed for two days due to ice, in Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, there were many kilometers of traffic jams on the roads. On the M5 highway (Moscow - Chelyabinsk) in the Zlatoust area, a huge traffic jam formed due to the fact that multi-ton trucks could not climb the slope. Breaks in power transmission lines, overhead communication lines and obstruction of vehicle traffic were also observed in a number of districts of the Samara and Ulyanovsk regions, the Republic of Tatarstan. (information from en.wikidpedia.org).

We wish you a good winter so that supercooled water falls to Earth less often. It is better to let the usual Russian fluffy snow fall.

Freezing rain - atmospheric precipitation in the form of transparent ice balls with a diameter of 1-3 millimeters. Inside these balls is unfrozen water. Freezing rain is formed in the case 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 when falling with a hard surface, these balls are broken into shells. At the same time, water flows out, forming a beautiful, but dangerous ice crust. Freezing rain increases injuries, increases the number of road accidents. They destroy trees that break under the weight of icy branches,

deprive animals and birds of food. This natural phenomenon cuts off electrical wires and paralyzes vehicles, turning them into blocks of ice.

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. This natural disaster caused numerous power line breaks and led to a transport collapse - due to icing

I had to change the schedule, 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 hit the Moscow region again, causing damage to transport and power lines. Cars and green spaces were again damaged. But the damage at that time was less - the fact that the freezing rain happened in the daytime against the backdrop of a thaw affected, so its consequences were not devastating. However, meteorologists do not consider freezing rain to be common. Rather, these are natural anomalies that do not happen very often. And yet it is worth knowing how to prepare for them, and how to deal with their consequences.

During and immediately after freezing rain, of course, it is best to stay at home. But if you still need to go outside, try to be extremely careful, avoid especially slippery places and do not make sudden movements.

During freezing rain, try to protect your face and hands so that the sharp edges of the frozen drops do not damage 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 observe 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 glass with a scraper and go to the car wash, where the ice crust will be knocked down by the pressure of water. Recall that on Monday evening, November 7, freezing rain again covered Moscow and the Moscow region. The 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 trains "Lastochka" and "Sapsan" to stop - because of the icing of the wires, the trains could not move,

Life.ru reports. Meanwhile, weather forecasters warn that until December 20, the weather in the capital region will be unstable. Earlier, Director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia Roman Vilfand said that the average temperature in January will be -9.2. Such 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. Night temperature will drop to -10, during the day it is expected to -5 in the capital, to -8 in the region.

Freezing rain is precipitation in the form of balls of ice with a diameter of one to three millimeters. Inside these "drops" is water.

ON THIS TOPIC

Freezing rain is formed during a temperature inversion - a reverse, anomalous distribution of temperatures. 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 masses are located above it. Drops falling from warm clouds, flying through a layer with a negative temperature, turn into ice balls with water inside. Colliding when falling with a hard surface, these balls are broken into shells. The water flows out, forming a beautiful but dangerous ice crust.

As a result, injuries increase, the number of road accidents increases. Trees break under the weight of icy branches. The resulting "shell" deprives animals and birds of food.

In Russia, freezing rain most often occurs in the Southern, Volga, Central federal districts, as well as in the Leningrad, Pskov and Novgorod regions. Many people remember what happened in the Moscow region on December 26, 2010. The thickness of the ice shell that covered everything around then reached three centimeters. More than 50 thousand trees died.

The natural disaster caused numerous breaks in power lines and led to a transport collapse. Due to icing, Sheremetyevo Airport had to change the schedule, and the work of Domodedovo was completely stopped. More than 400 thousand people were left without electricity. The damage from that freezing rain amounted to more than 200 billion rubles.

At the end of November 2012, freezing rain hit the Moscow region again, causing damage to transport and power lines. Cars and green spaces were damaged. But the damage was less that time: the freezing rain fell during the daytime against the backdrop of a thaw, so its effects were not devastating.

However, meteorologists do not consider freezing rain to be a common occurrence. It's more of a natural anomaly that doesn't happen all that often. And yet it is worth knowing how to prepare for it and deal with the consequences.

During and immediately after freezing rain, of course, it is best to be at home. But if you still need to go outside, then you should be extremely careful, avoid especially slippery places and do not make sudden movements. During freezing rain, protect your face and hands: the sharp edges of the "drops" can damage the skin.

It is better to leave the car in the parking lot and, if possible, use public transport. If you do have to get behind the wheel, drive as carefully as possible, avoid sudden braking, reduce maneuvering to a minimum and observe an increased interval.

In order to free the frozen car from the ice crust, use a heating pad with hot water. Gently swing the frozen door until the ice cracks at the joint. Warm up the car, clean the glass with a scraper and visit the car wash, where the ice crust will be knocked off by the pressure of water.

Recall that on the evening of Monday, November 7, freezing rain again hit Moscow and the Moscow region. The streets and trees were covered with a thin, shiny crust. Car owners had to free them from glass captivity. In addition, because of the icing of the wires, the trains "Swallow" and "Sapsan" stopped, reports Life.ru.

Meanwhile, weather forecasters warn that until December 20, the weather in the capital region will be unstable. Earlier, Director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia Roman Vilfand said that the average temperature in January will be -9.2. Such frosts are close to normal, but the winter will be much colder than last year.

Like Dni.Ru, real winter will come to Moscow on November 11-12. The temperature at night will drop to -10, during the day it is expected to be -5 in the capital and -8 in the region.

Freezing rain is a rare natural phenomenon in Moscow; these are atmospheric precipitation falling from 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 - falling on objects, the balls break into shells, water flows out and ice forms.
But this phenomenon was experienced in December 2010 by all residents of Moscow.
On December 25-26, 2010, freezing rain fell in Moscow, the Moscow region and a number of neighboring regions in the zone of two parallel warm fronts. An ice crust up to 20 mm thick, in places up to 50 mm thick, covered roads, sidewalks, tree branches, wires, cars parked on the street, etc. In the following days, the situation was aggravated by the accumulation of wet snow on icy surfaces, resulting in the formation of so-called "complex deposits". The absence of thaws and strong winds caused the preservation of ice and snow-ice deposits over the next few weeks (in the Moscow region until 01/19/2011).
Many Muscovites faced problems that were the result of this natural phenomenon: people could not open their cars because they were under a layer of ice; trees turned into ice statues; it was very difficult for people to walk on the sidewalks, and for vehicles to drive on the roads - everything was covered with ice.
The consequences were, unfortunately, sad: more than 12,000 trees were felled in Moscow alone. Falling trees damaged and cut power lines. Life support facilities, hospitals turned out to be de-energized, there were interruptions in the operation of airports, railway and road transport, urban electric transport, fixed and cellular communications. The transport situation in Moscow and the Moscow suburbs was close to catastrophic: long-distance trains, suburban electric trains, Aeroexpress trains to Moscow airports moved with long delays, and there were interruptions in the movement of metro trains. Due to a break in the wires of the main and backup power lines, Domodedovo Airport stopped its work for several days, and due to the lack of anti-icing fluid for handling aircraft, Sheremetyevo Airport. Falling trees and branches damaged many cars, hundreds of people were injured, and there were casualties.
I remember very well one of the icy days: I went with my parents to the Christmas tree in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. It was almost impossible to walk, the road was so slippery. It was a real ice rink; the ice shone like a mirror, and it seemed that even on skates it would be impossible to move, it was so slippery. Many people simply stood in confusion, and then barely reached the nearest fence, also covered with a thin layer of ice, and, holding on to it, walked forward. So did we.
In Moscow, the icing lasted up to 17 days, and its maximum thickness was 10-11 mm.
But it was also unusually beautiful! I never again saw roads, road signs, trees, cars, shops, monuments of my beloved city covered with ice. The whole city was covered in ice! It seemed that only people managed to "survive" after the ice disaster.
And this photo was taken on the very day that I still remember and that I still wonder about!

Which arises due to the temperature difference at the height of the passage of the rain front and at the surface of the earth. It refers to the so-called "oversized" precipitation, which falls out monotonously over a fairly long period of time.

Everything happens like this: below, above the surface of the earth, there is cold air (ice rain traditionally occurs at), and above it there is a layer of warmer air.

Raindrops, approaching the ground, freeze very quickly - but only outside. It turns out that it consists of solid transparent balls of ice, inside of which unfrozen water remains.

When falling, the balls break, 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 the science of weather, there is also such a thing as " heavy snow” - but, unlike prolonged freezing rain, it refers to heavy rainfall, characterized by a sudden onset and a sharp change in intensity. It happens at positive temperatures and is dangerous because it sharply worsens visibility.

Is freezing rain dangerous?

Yes, freezing rain can cause serious damage. Under the weight of ice, trees break and die, power lines break, various structures collapse, and air traffic is disrupted. The number of road accidents increases sharply due to ice on the roads. In addition, it becomes very difficult for motorists to rescue their cars from ice captivity, and for public utilities to clear the streets.

Does it drop out often?

Freezing rain is a rare occurrence in our country. It is typical for the east coast of North America - the northeast of the USA and Canada.

But at the end of 2010 - beginning of 2011, freezing rain passed in Moscow and the Moscow region. As a result: more than 400 thousand people were left without electricity; Wet snow and ice sticking to wires and fallen trees disrupted the power supply to most settlements in the region, as well as railways and social facilities. Hospitals were de-energized.

Due to a power outage at Domodedovo Airport, Sheremetyevo Airport worked intermittently. Thousands of people could not leave the capital. There were problems in the work of public transport - trams and trolleybuses. In addition, many cars were damaged.

Safety regulations

When there is ice on the street, you need to be careful, carefully look under your feet, because on the ice you can easily slip and get injured. It is best to wear shoes with ribbed soles. It is also better not to walk under frozen trees - branches can fall under the weight of the ice crust.

How to get a car out of ice captivity?

1) The first thing a motorist needs to do is open the door and get inside. In this case, do not pour boiling water on the door - the paint may crack and corrosion will begin. Experts advise using a heating pad with hot water and applying it to the lock. Then you need to slightly swing the door so that the ice at the junction cracks and it opens.

2) If you managed to get inside, then you must immediately start the engine, turn on the stove and headlights, the car will gradually warm up.

3) When the windows become warmer, you can try to remove the ice from them with a scraper. Prior to this, the wipers are strictly not recommended to be turned on.

4) When the car has more or less thawed, you need to take it to the car wash, where the remaining ice will be knocked down with jets of water.