Last night brought quite the wintry mix to North Alabama, but what exactly makes up a wintry mix? Is it just snow and rain? Not quite! It could also include sleet and freezing rain.
Of course, when water falls from clouds and does so while remaining in air that is always above 32 degrees, it falls as rain, or liquid water.
When water falls and spends much of its time between the cloud and the surface in above freezing temperatures but impacts sub-freezing air near the surface, that water becomes something called "supercooled." This means the water is below 32 degrees but remains in its liquid state. Immediately upon impact with any surface, the water will freeze and create a glaze, which can be very dangerous on roads and power lines. This is known as freezing rain.
Sleet is essentially the opposite. Sleet starts off as liquid water when it falls from the sky but spends the vast majority of its journey down to earth in sub-freezing air. This allows an ice particle to form while maintaining a thin outer glaze of liquid water.
And of course, water that spends it's entire gravitational journey in air colder than 32 degrees falls as ice, or good-old-fashioned snow.
Both freezing rain and sleet are likely to create black ice on roads and in the event you encounter that remember to not make jerky movements, remain calm as best you can. Rather than slamming on the brakes, just take your foot off the gas and allow the car to slow itself while you steer back to safety.
Got a weather question you want answered? Email ganello@waaytv.com!
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