It can sleet in the 40s ... but will it get cold enough for ice?Posted Feb24, 2007 at 11:37 PMThere have been some reports of sleet around the area tonight. Yes, it can sleet well into the 40s, even the low 50s on occasion. Sleet is a very dense ice pellet that doesn't melt as rapidly as the fragile crystals of snow. It usually can't snow much at the surface above 40, but sleet can sometimes penetrate a surface layer of temperatures well above freezing. It won't stick much though unless it's 32 or below. Temperatures are only slowly creeping downward tonight, still hanging in the low to mid 40s, so I'm doubting even more that there will be much significant ice along and south of U.S. 460. We do now have a northeast wind that may add a touch of cold-air damming to the evaporational cooling from the precipitation falling into dry air. I think most areas from Roanoke south will stop in the mid 30s, though I'm sure a few outlying areas will drop to 32 and develop a little ice. Don't let my doubts overrule caution, though ... it only takes one patch of ice to ruin your day, or even your life. With so much mild weather of late, ice is more likely to form on trees and exposed objects than on roadways, but bridges and overpasses can get slick quickly even it is just 32. Any travel to the north on Sunday shoud be done very cautiously, as more severe winter weather conditions will be developing "upstate." Click here for the latest local National Weather Service radar Click here for the latest updates on the current weather event |
About this blog
Kevin Myatt works on the copy desk for The Roanoke Times and is its principal weather geek, writing a weekly weather column and advising the newsroom on weather topics. He helps guide students on a storm chasing trip to the central U.S. each May and was an editor for "Hurricanes and the Middle Atlantic States." .....Advertisement.....
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