I recently read Five Reasons Why Freezing Rain Really Is The Worst about freezing rain and black ice.
Black ice is a thin coat of highly transparent ice. …it blends in with road pavements since it is so thin, making it nearly impossible to see. It’s called black ice since it looks black, like the color of the road pavement it forms on.
—What Is Black Ice And Why Is It So Dangerous?
Here are some examples:
We’ve been lucky here and have never encountered it, and no doubt that’s true of Cathy and Rummuser too. But tammy, Cindi and Kaitlin have had their share. It’s treacherous stuff!
February 26, 2018
We’ve been amazingly lucky! 70 years of living mostly in Minnesota yet never involved in a black ice accident.
I’m happy for you, and for us too. Nasty stuff!
there is no way to safely drive on ice. and unfortunately instead of snow we are in that weird belt that always gets a layer of black ice and then just plain ice if it lasts long enough. and everybody here drives too fast in it!
you would think people would at least slow down! but so many have 4 wheel drive now and I guess they think that makes a difference for them.
on snow it does. but black ice is still ice. you just go where it takes you.
like your video examples here… it turns into a destruction derby! and ‘everybody’s’ insurance payment then goes UP!
Yes, 4 wheel drive doesn’t help if all four wheels are on ice. I sympathize and am glad you don’t have to drive every day.
you are right – black ice up this part of country, not a problem – maybe in the Sth Island such happens…
we do get very heavy frosts sometimes that affect shady parts of roads, especially on corners…got into a slide once when turning into a road with a slight hill/steep corner…
I’ve only slid once, and that was when I was going a bit too fast around a corner when it had just started raining. That can get slippery too, but at least you know about it. I learned my lesson!
The video from Virginia is actually the neighbor of a co-worker. I would have fallen long before he did!
But you’re right about black ice. I’ve seen plenty. And, I have to add that when we lived in Alaska, my husband was part of a big Army exercise in January, and it was -40. With everything breaking down, their big highlight was taking cups of water, tossing them into the air, and they would be frozen by the time they hit the ground. Talk about cold!! 🙂
Thanks for telling me about the video of the fellow.
I’m sorry about your black ice. I’ve had a little experience with -40 degree weather. I couldn’t wear my glasses because my breath frosted them over, and I got ice on my eyelashes. Needless to say, we didn’t walk far even though we were bundled up. And we wouldn’t have gone at all if there had been a wind. It’s nice being cozy and warm inside in weather like that.
I was caught by some black ice a few years ago on my way to work. I went into a huge skid and was afraid I would go straight into a line of parked cars, but luckily I was able to get the car under control again and no harm done.
I’m glad it worked out well! It is scary.
We have other treacherous stuff on our roads like maniacal drivers, cattle, stray animals, pedestrians suddenly darting across, signal breakers, road hogs, road rage specialists and so on and so forth. Black ice is peanuts compared to the hazards that we have to negotiate on our roads.
😀
We’ve had more than our share of problems with ice here. Foolishly, I once drove 80 miles on ice with several other guys to attend a college class at the Little Rock AFB. I was a lot younger then. 😉
We’ve made changes here to prepare for ice storms and other weather hazards. I can run a cord from our camper to the house to provide power with its generator for lights, refrigerator an numerous outlets. We recently had 5 larger trees closer to the house and/or power lines removed.
Here’s one of our events: https://exit78.com/ice-2/
I remember you mentioning these precautions. Good for you for being prepared. 🙂