Freezing Rain

[sledhead007]

I was just looking at an extended forecast for my area on accuweather.com to see how it compares to your 5-10 day forecast graphic and saw that we could get some freezing rain however the high temp is only supposed to be 20 degrees that day... how do you get freezing rain over snow when it is sub freezing by 12 degrees?? I always thought the only time you could get freezing rain was right around the freezing point where it is too warm from snow but too cold for just pure rainfall.

 

[michaeladams]

that would depend on the thickness of the layer of cold air below the warm air layer that is riding up on the cold.maybe john has a diagram of this he could post

 

[jd]

michaeladams is right. In many freezing rain cases, temps very close to the surface are below freezing, while further up in the atmosphere, they are not.

Another factor is the fact that it needs to be considerably colder than freezing for water vapor to go directly to ice. I am not going to go into the thermodynamic explanation, but trust me, it is fact. So where the precip is being created, temps may be below the freezing point, but liquid drops are still being formed. They fall as liquid and then freeze on contact with something on the surface.

Hope this makes sense.

-John

 

[meathead]

jd freezein rain/ice

michaeladams is right. In many freezing rain cases, temps very close to the surface are below freezing, while further up in the atmosphere, they are not.

Another factor is the fact that it needs to be considerably colder than freezing for water vapor to go directly to ice. I am not going to go into the thermodynamic explanation, but trust me, it is fact. So where the precip is being created, temps may be below the freezing point, but liquid drops are still being formed. They fall as liquid and then freeze on contact with something on the surface.

Hope this makes sense.

-John

John , this is also called freezin rain ?on our cars and stuff.. and why my (lovely wife gets the garage for her car..lol..lol.)..meathead

 

[rayone02]

I wouldnt worry to much on accuweather extended forecast is always out to lunch I would not go any further than five days out for an extended forecast it will always change.