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Ice Storms
Formation:
The ice storms form due to a warm air mass getting squished between two cold air
masses. The cold air mass that is above the others is the one that creates the snow
which then melts as it passes through the warm air mass, creating rain. The ice comes
into play when the rain enters the second cold air mass and freezes on whatever it
touches. The ice coats everything in multiple centimeters of it.
Dynamics:
Ice storms are rated just like earthquakes and volcanoes, there are different severities.
Most of the time ice storms are mild. In order to have a large one you must have large
and strong air masses. Ice storms are typically not widespread and tend to reside in one
area at a time, they do not move like a typical snow storm due to needing specific
elements at a given time to form.
Social impact:
The people in the affected communities are impacted because they may be stranded
within their homes or vehicles and may suffer a loss of power and heat along with food.
There are many reported deaths and injuries in past storms. Most of which are
unrelated to the storm itself, and instead due to secondary affects such as hypothermia
or starvation, some are even caused by a fall while shoveling or going for a stroll. Also,
residents may be evicted from their homes due to a tree falling through the roof, causing
them to live in shelters temporarily.
Economic impact:
Small businesses and commercial industries will be affected because they will lose
significant amounts of money. And for dairy farmers, cattle could be affected because
they could get sick and not be able to produce milk and the milk they do produce cannot
be used because of the animals’ health. in extreme conditions there could be ice
buildup in the cows’ nostrils, and they could suffocate. In other cases, stores would be
closed, and they would lose money that way. For hydro/city workers it’s a different case,
they would be working overtime in extreme and hazardous conditions.
Environmental impact:
Due to the weight of the ice a lot of trees will split in half as they are not able to hold the
weight. If the trees don’t split its most likely that there is still damage done because the
trees will have broken branches and may need to be cut down. Sometimes this could be
a good thing because some less affected trees or smaller trees may thrive and grow
better due to loss of competition. Animals will also be affected and although some parts
of this maybe negative like food being scarce, in some cases this could be positive.
Fallen and uprooted trees can create new homes and shelter for animals.
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Sources
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/ice-storm-1998
https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/education/svrwx101/winter/
https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/what-to-know-about-ice-storms-
impacts-damage-explainer
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-ice-storms
https://mylandplan.org/content/facts-about-ice-storms
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