Ice Storms

1
Ice Storms

• Nadine Ferguson-Herbert
• Ms. Doolan
• SNC 2D0
• December 13, 2004

2
What The Heck is an Ice Storm?!

• An ice storm is a weather occurrence in which
  precipitation falls on the Earth in the form of
  freezing rain.
• These storms can be extremely dangerous, and can
  cause damage to property and casualties among
  people (even fatalities).

3
Where Do They Occur?

• Ice storms are known to happen in Northern areas
  such as Canada and Northern Europe. On rare
  occasions, they are documented in Northern areas
  of the United States, as well.

4
How Do They Form?

• Freezing rain (which can escalate to an ice
  storm) begins with a layer of cold air near the
  ground, with a warm layer containing moist air
  above, followed by a cold layer on top.

5
How Do They Form?

• The moisture contained in the warm air rises into
  the cold layer and condenses into ice. Once the
  air can no longer hold the ice, it falls to the
  ground. It passes through the warm layer which
  melts the ice, at which point the melted ice
  falls through the second cold layer and
  re-freezes on the ground.

6
How Do They Form?

• Take, for example, the 1998 Ice Storm in Quebec
  and Ontario. An arctic high pressure system
  remained over the area due to the influence of
  the jet stream. A southern jet stream caused warm
  air to be swept from the Gulf of Mexico north to
  the area. Ice storms generally dont last longer
  than a few hours - but this one lasted 80!

• Ice storms usually occur because of high pressure
  cold systems, and low pressure warm systems. The
  high pressure system hovers over the low pressure
  system, at which time the events discussed
  sometimes occur.

7
Why Are They So Dangerous I Mean, Really?!

• The frozen rain that falls through the cold
  layer is, of course, frozen. Therefore, it can
  impact objects on the surface very hard and cause
  damage to houses, cars, power disruptions, etc.
• The ice that hits the ground also causes a sleek
  layer of ice that is EXTREMELY slippery and
  dangerous to drive/walk on.

8
What Do These Suckers Look Like?

• Ice storms, although very dangerous, are often
  referred to as very beautiful. They leave a thick
  layer of ice on everything - the ground, trees,
  houses - which can be described as very serene.

9
The Temper of an Ice Storm

• Ice storms are very temperamental so to speak.
  They can last from a few minutes to a few days,
  and are hard to predict.
• The ice often falls very hard and very fast which
  is very dangerous.
• Because of the low pressure area near the ground,
  the weather is usually incredibly cold.

10
Characteristics? Effects?

• Ice storms cause damage to property, cars, hydro
  wires, etc. (imagine bullets falling to the
  ground very quickly - thats an ice storm).
• They also influence such things as car accidents.

• Usually it is very cloudy when an ice storm is
  occurring, and the ground temperature is very
  cold. And of course, lets not forget the extreme
  amount of precipitation!

11
Social Impacts

• Ice storms of the magnitude similar to the 98
  ice storm in Quebec/Ontario bring much grief to
  citizens, because they often cut off power and
  municipal services
• They do, however, help bring communities together
  by aiding each other in the struggle to survive.

12
Economic Impacts

• Ice storms cause extensive damage in the areas
  they affect.
• They damage/destroy power lines, buildings, cars,
  etc.
• For example, the 98 ice storm caused much power
  disruption for clients reliant on the areas
  power. This resulted in costs of 1.656 billion
  dollars.

13
SOURCES USED

• Meteorological Service of Canada (affiliated with
  Environment Canada). Ice Storm 98. 18 Dec. 2002.
  Ottawa, Ontario. 12 Dec. 2004 lthttp//www.msc-smc.
  ec.gc.ca/media/icestorm98/index_e.cfm?gt
• Nelson Thomson Learning. Science 10. Scarborough,
  Ontario, 2001.