Freezing rain doesn't actually fall from the sky in an already-frozen state. Raindrops are super-cooled while passing through a layer of gelid air just hundreds of feet above the surface, then freeze on impact after falling, forming a thin ice glaze as multiple drops accumulate. This makes for hazardous driving conditions. Today's unseasonably warm weather (low 30s) is rare; the last time Fairbanks had rainfall instead of snowfall in November was in 1936!
My car this morning was enveloped entirely in an opaque ice glaze accented with indentations formed by continuous pelting from raindrops. It looked like an avant garde glass sculpture. The temperature was hovering at just below freezing as I gingerly pulled the car out of the parking lot and started the treacherous commute to work. The roads were extremely slippery, as if someone had gone over every inch with a Zamboni. I'm pretty sure I was driving more slowly than all your grandmothers combined. The walkway in front of the hospital might as well have been a skating rink; several of us slipped and nearly fell more than once. I really should have worn ice skates to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment