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Freezing rain requires a clashing of air masses, where the warm air slides over the cold air so that the precipitation falls as rain but freezes on contact with a surface. Here in NYC, it’s pretty common in midwinter and we typically get a couple of events per winter due to the warm Atlantic air clashing with the cold continental air. In the US, it occurs in areas with just marginally cold winters such as NYC or DC. So I’m thinking other areas on the cooler end of Cfa climates like Milan, Novorosiisk, etc see freezing rain. Let me know what areas see it, would be great if someone could post a map
My first thought was Indianapolis and that latitude of the midwest. Seems like there are a lot of times where it's rain to the south, snow to the north, and they're that unlucky spot that gets mix or freezing rain. Atlanta is too far south, we usually just get cold rain, just like snow isn't common, neither is FR/mix precip.
I found this. A little old but it shows that area but also the NE which I guess isn't too surprising. (I don't really like the hourly map, seems too hyperfocused on the locations and isn't smoothed well enough).
Not about the Atlantic waters and not only about the warm air sliding over. Sometimes cold air will undercut the warm air causing the surface ice storm.
As far as locations that get significant ice..... Anyone can see significant ice. Anywhere there is a low pressure has the ability to push warmer mid level air as it spins counterclockwise over an area that has a cold sub freezing air in place.
Location: Live:Downtown Phoenix, AZ/Work:Greater Los Angeles, CA
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Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas are 3 of the states that have common freezing rain, where the warm humid gulf air and cold arctic air from Canada clash with no mountains in between to moderate the air masses
Southern Michigan getting an ice storm this morning.. Let me show you why real quick and keep it simple...
Colors = temps at 5000'. Aside from Mexico seeing snow, the Jet stream is currently angled from Mexico to Lake Ontario. That is where the front and storm track is.
You have an active Sub Tropical Jet stream providing a lot of moisture. That moisture is riding the front all the way to Canada.
You have cold air racing in but to the north you have the cold air in place so the precip was starting as snow at first like in Chicago last night.
If temps at 5000' are not below freezing you will not see snow. Even a 0.5C will ruin it.
So if you look at Southern Michigan they are on the East side of the front right now which means the warm side. Warm southerly push of air is filtering in while it was snowing and the air was freezing.
The surface is staying cold but there is a layer above that is melting the snow. Hence the Ice Storm.
It's not about the Ocean. It's about the pattern. Follow the 500mb heights and 850mb temps and you learn so much about weather patterns and reasons why something is happening.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Where we are on a plateau at 600' east of Seattle, we have had freezing rain about 6 times since we moved here 27 years ago. In most cases it's been just after a long freeze, before it turns to rain and melts everything, so just a few hours of dangerous conditions. One year, however, we had a week of snow, total 24", and then the freezing rain coated everything with 1/2" of ice, you couldn't even open a car door. Power lines and tree branches were falling from the weight of the ice.
Eventually, when the sun came out, tubes of ice began to fall from overhead wires onto the cars.
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