John, under misc. there is a post about riders having difficulty with icing conditions that could not even be overcome by electric shields that occurred on Sunday. I am guessing that there was a particular wx event that ocurred in which the surface air contained unusally high amounts of moisture even with the ambient air temps around 12F?
Icing Conditions
- Thread starter jimmyj
- Start date
Without me being there, or having access to some good data as to the structure of the atmosphere in the location where it happened, I can only guess, but would have to say it was most likely freezing drizzle.
It is more common than you think to have freezing drizzle occur with temps in the teens. What happens is that the air aloft is warmer than at the surface and the temps that are in the teens are right near the surface (perhaps just a few hundred feet up). So where the precip is being formed, it is not cold enough to get ice crystals to form.
Also, without what is called an ice nuclei, it has to be well below freezing (actually well below zero) for water vapor to go right to an ice crystal, so you can have a water droplet form in temps well below freezing and then that drop falls as a super cooled water droplet and freezes immediately upon contact.
If that is what was causing all the problems with an iced up shield, I hate to say that if the freezing drizzle is heavy enough and/or the snowmobiler is traveling fast enough, there is no solution that would keep up with the ice accumulation on a shield or goggle.
-John
It is more common than you think to have freezing drizzle occur with temps in the teens. What happens is that the air aloft is warmer than at the surface and the temps that are in the teens are right near the surface (perhaps just a few hundred feet up). So where the precip is being formed, it is not cold enough to get ice crystals to form.
Also, without what is called an ice nuclei, it has to be well below freezing (actually well below zero) for water vapor to go right to an ice crystal, so you can have a water droplet form in temps well below freezing and then that drop falls as a super cooled water droplet and freezes immediately upon contact.
If that is what was causing all the problems with an iced up shield, I hate to say that if the freezing drizzle is heavy enough and/or the snowmobiler is traveling fast enough, there is no solution that would keep up with the ice accumulation on a shield or goggle.
-John
Great explanation JD!
I've wondered for years how it could be misting-drizziling yet only be like 15-20 degrees or colder.
I've wondered for years how it could be misting-drizziling yet only be like 15-20 degrees or colder.
Right on John!.... I checked in with Lando Rec today & they had the same condition Friday in Lando & sold a bunch of heated shields but nothing helped....just one of those days.lol
dfattack
Well-known member
the strange part of it was...it was actually snowing too...not just ice or freezing drizzle but apparently mixed together. the snow wasn't the heavy wet snow because it was too cold. I can see that happening when it's 30-32 degrees but not in the teens and snowing. Obviously I'm wrong...just didn't see it coming.