Freezing Rain: Mother Nature’s Dominant Side

Mother Nature sure likes to show she’s the boss. The dominant one. Here in the northeast, we can deal with snow and rain. But when the two come together the challenge is significantly upped. Commonly known as freezing rain, it happens when a cold from and a warm front come together. Over the last few days we had snow, then the temperature rose and the snow became rain. Not enough rain to wash away the newly fallen snow. But enough to deposit an icy finish on roads, sidewalks, cars, and buildings.

Imagine Mother Nature zipping along on her Zamboni, giving everything a candy apple appearance.  It is lovely to look out at from the safety and warmth of your home, but venturing out is something that requires much consideration. Yesterday all the school in the Montreal area were closed. They had stayed open during heavy snowfalls, we are Canadian after all, but freezing rain has us crying uncle.

There are several precautions to keep in mind when the forecast calls for freezing rain. Not least of which is to put your windshield wipers, as they say on planes, in upright and locked position. As I found out earlier this winter the rubber adheres to the cold glass; once you turn them on they pull away and often pull away from the wiper arm as well. This leaves giant gaps in driver visibility, never a recommended driving tactic. Some folk actually place plastic bags over their wipers, while others cover the windshield with cardboard for easy cleaning.

A lane in need of sand and salt

Bagged wiper blades

The original snow covered by a sheet of ice.

Wiper blades up

DCMontreal – Deegan Charles Stubbs – is a Montreal writer born and raised who likes to establish balance and juxtapositions; a bit of this and a bit of that, a dash of Yin and a soupçon of Yang, some Peaks and an occasional Frean and maybe a bit of a sting in the tail! Please follow DCMontreal on Twitter and on Facebook, and add him on Google+