Hmm... Verglas does sound better than just "ice rain" - does it not?

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A utility worker uses a pole to remove debris and fallen tree branches from frozen power lines in Springfield, Mo., Sunday. The third round of a powerful storm caused several deaths, dangerous driving conditions and widespread power outages that began earlier in the weekend.
Photo By Mark Schiefelbein, AP

LA CRISE DU VERGLAS was how they called it in Quebec, 1998 - most of the month of February was a horrible nightmare back then in "la belle province"...
People died, people froze... No electricity, no power, only a few hours of daylight and then it was the darkness and cold again. Dehydration and hypothermia were constant threats. It was just horrid.

In the midst of all that, something was rediscovered, for a brief time anyhow - human fraternity.

And then, when everything came back to normal, it was lost again.
Individualism and indifference came back to the fore.
To this day, it hasn't stopped.

I hope that, down in Missouri, Oklahoma and in all the other states that are going through similar ordeals now, that spirit of solidarity is rekindled, thriving and present in full force there.

They will need it.

This post is dedicated to the 60 who have perished in this crisis so far.

Weather crises will be more numerous as time progresses into the future now... Data is always good, so here are the different types of ice rain storms we could be facing - in-between hurricane season and tornado times...?


ICE STORM TYPES

"Nuisance"
(less than 1/4 inch of ice)

* Windshields coated
* Bridges tricky
* Light ice on trees

"Disruptive"
(1/4 to 1/2 inch of ice)

* Tree limbs sag
* Most roads icy
* Power outages

"Crippling"
(1/2 inch or more of ice)

* Widespread tree and powerline damage
* Roads impassable or dangerous

(Source: The Weather Channel)