Essay Sample on Ice Storm 1998: Unprecedented Impact & Meteorological Evolution

Introduction

The ice storm is one of the freezing rain events that was recorded in 1998. The event had the potential destructive power with the freezing rain event that caused both human suffering and ecological damage. With its unprecedented impact, there is a need to evaluate the meteorological evolution for the ice storm development. Unlike the other freezing events, the ice storm consists of two synoptic disturbances, which are extreme in the frozen rain precipitation. When the two are combined, they produce the intensity and duration that causing damages to trees, as seen in figure 1. The synoptic evolution results from high-pressure ridge like the one observed on January 4 in Western Canada (Beaudet, Brisson, Messier, & Gravel, 2017). The high-pressure region is essential in creating the meteorological condition for freezing rain.

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The freezing rain characterizes the ice storm, which primarily occurs during winter. Some parts of the USA called it the glaze event. The ice storm is due to the accumulation of more than 6.4 mm of the ice exposed to the surface. The ice storm is more common in the USA from 1994 and averages 16 per year (Beaudet, Brisson, Messier, & Gravel, 2017). It is not violent and is gentle rains that occur at a temperature below the freezing.

The ice storm forms from a layer above the freezing air near the surface. The frozen snow creates rain with falling of the drops onto the warm air layer. The refreezing of the precipitation leads to sleet. Also, the liquid droplet continues falling without freezing with the cooling of the thin layer leading to supercooling. The supercooled drops strike the ground, the power lines as well as the tree branches with the layer of ice accumulating as cold water drips off, thus the freezing rain.

The meteorologists effectively predict the ice storm occurrence in various parts of the world. However, some ice storms arise without warning. Most of the ice storms that occur in the United States occur without notice, thus causing damages more than those caused by Hurricane Camille. An ice storm is directly followed by heavy snowfall, as seen in figure 3. The weight of the ice storm is about 25 millimeters and causes widespread damage, which is considered most severe since 1940 (Irland, 2019).

The formation of the freezing rain entails the storm covering everything, thus causing hazardous driving as well as walking conditions. It leads to the breaking of branches or the whole trees from the weight of the ice, as in figure 3. The ice storm weight snaps the power lines breaking the utility poles, thus leaving people without power (Kohout, Williams, Dean, & Meylan, 2018). The loss of electricity during the ice storms causes numerous illnesses as well as deaths from the unintentional carbon monoxide, which also leads to various symptoms, including nausea, dizziness as well as headache, and heart failure.

Conclusion

Generally, the ice storms occur when the precipitation passes from the cold air layer through the layer with warm air then to the layer with cold air. The thin cold of air above the ground supercools the precipitation, which freezes when it lands on trees and buildings. The weight of the ice storm on the power line leads to the shortage of electricity that affecting the homes and businesses. Characterized by the freezing rain, the ice storms cause significant damages to the structure with the small amount of the ice storm, making the conditions of the road to be very dangerous.

References

Beaudet, M., Brisson, J., Messier, C., & Gravel, D. (2017). Effect of a major ice storm on understory light conditions in an old-growth Acer-Fagus forest: Pattern of recovery over seven years. Forest Ecology and Management, 242(2-3), 553-557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.01.068

Irland, L. C. (2019). Ice storms and forest impacts. Science of The Total Environment, 262(3), 231-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(00)00525-8

Kohout, A. L., Williams, M. J. M., Dean, S. M., & Meylan, M. H. (2018). Storm-induced sea-ice breakup and the implications for ice extent. Nature, 509(7502), 604-607. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13262