Freezing Rain Turned Vermont Into An Icy Disaster Last Night; More Ice Nightmares Today

Pedestrians walk gingerly on a very icy sidewalk in downtown
Burlington, Vermont during Wednesday evening's ice storm. 

Well, that was a nightmare.

Last evening, freezing rain moved into Vermont just in time for rush hour, and it came with more of a vengeance than almost anyone expected. The result was one of the worst Champlain Valley traffic nightmares I can remember in the more than 30 years I've lived in this region.

As of mid-morning this Thurdsay, it's not quite as bad as it was last evening, but untreated roads, sidewalks and driveways are still a nightmare.

This evening's commute could be another real headache. I'll get into this more in a minute further down, and you'll want to read it. There's still some icy danger on the Vermont roads now, through the day into tonight.

First, let's go chronological order and unpack what happened Wednesday evening.

We knew freezing rain was a risk well ahead of the onset of Wednesday's storm. That's why winter weather advisories were up ahead of the mess for all of Vermont except the areas along the Canadian border.  That winter weather advisory did include Burlington, which was the epicenter of Wednesday evening's

Starting Tuesday evening if not before, everyone was being advised that the Wednesday evening commute would probably be tricky. But it turned out to be a lot trickier than almost everyone, including me, imagined.

The first problem was there was the idea, especially in the northern half of Vermont, that the freezing rain would be mixed with, sleet or snow. Or even that the sleet and snow would predominate. The added sleet and snow - though dangerous -  would give you more traction on the road that just freezing rain alone.

Ice glistens in trees and glares off  the pavement on Main Street in
 downtown Burlington, Vermont during Wednesday evening's ice storm.

Instead, there was almost no snow or sleet. Virtually all the precipitation right up to and past the Canadian border was freezing rain. At the onset, the National Weather Service hastily extended the winter weather advisory all the way up to the Canadian border.

Especially in the northern half of Vermont, the precipitation was forecast to come down quite lightly. Instead, there was a burst of freezing rain that came down fairly heavily.

Burlington reported 0.34 inches of precipitation. Not huge, but more than enough to create havoc. The main band of freezing rain only lasted four hours or so, but the timing was terrible.

The freezing rain moved in right at rush hour. And it went from a sprinkle to a serious drenching very quickly. I was traveling between St. Albans and Burlington at the time on Interstate 89, and I drove into the onrushing band of freezing rain.

In Georgia, everything was fine. By the time I hit Milton, it was pure smooth ice. Figure skater Michelle Kwan would have approved of the ice conditions for her routine.

Temperatures were only in the mid-20s at the onset of the freezing rain. It wasn't even close to 32, which meant the rain froze fast and hard.  I was driving on Interstate 89 in Colchester on a slight decline. My truck brakes were totally ineffective. I only avoided hitting the car in front of me by steering into the breakdown lane and gaining traction on the rumble strip.

Everybody else was having the same problem. Soon, people did start hitting each other. There was a 13-car pile up in Richmond.  Other crashes occured on Interstate 89 and near the Lamoille River bridge between Milton and Georgia.

Plus, a lot of people couldn't make it the slightest hill. Soon, Interstate 89 and every other road in the region was pretty much gridlocked.

With all the cars backed up, the salt trucks couldn't even get through the traffic to salt the roads. People were reportedly trapped in their cars on Interstate 89 northbound for two hours or more. A half hour commute for some people streched to nearly four hours.

Finally, later in the evening, Vermont State Police and other agencies were able to herd Interstate traffic into breakdown lanes so that the salt trucks could get through.

Things temporarily got better late at night, around 10 or 11 p.m. When liquid water freezes on contact, it releases a bit of latent heat. That, combined with a weak south wind, warmed things up so many parts of the Champlain Valley rose just above freezing. Some of the ice melted off the roads.

On the way back to St. Albans at 10:30 to 11 p.m. or so last night, there were still several cars abandoned in the breakdown lanes of Interstate 89. Rest areas were jammed with tractor trailer trucks, whose drivers wisely decided to give up on moving until things improved.

Trees were also weighed down by the ice last night, , but the brief thaw melted the ice off, so additional freezing drizzle today won't increase the danger of broken tree branches and power lines - except in a very few areas where it didn't get above freezing.

The only way to keep an ice storm going is if you get fresh supplies of cold air to overcome the latent heat release from rain freezing on contact. To do that, you'll need a steady, if light flow from the north. That's why the famous ice storm of 1998 lasted for three days. We kept getting a fresh supply of cold air.  

Which leads us to this morning, and the not-at-all-good situation out there now.

TODAY AND TONIGHT'S ICE SITUATION

My St. Albans, Vermont driveway is a skating rink this
morning after last night's freezing rain. This morning's freezing
drizzle and freezing fog is NOT helping. 

In the wake of last night's disturbance, a flow of north winds is funneling down the Champlain Valley this morning. It's below freezing in most locations, especially the Champlain Valley.

This is a repeat of what happened Monday, only worse because temperatures are lower and the subfreezing temperatures extend through the valley, not just the northern tip.

There's ice covering untreated roads and sidewalks and driveways. I simply cannot walk on my driveway. Luckily, I have a supply of sand that I will apply after I write this. There's patchy freezing drizzle and freezing fog around. I'd still be careful if you venture out today.

As it stands now, it looks like the Champlain Valley, especially the northern half, will stay below freezing all day. The rest of the North Country will hover near 32 degrees for the rest of the day.

Which leads us to the next storm this evening. The National Weather Service in South Burlington has already issued a winter weather advisory for areas outside the Champlain Valley. That's because this next storm is also bringing rain. With temperatures near 32, freezing rain is likely to coat roads again.

Initially, it was thought the Champlain Valley would stay warmer than it currently is, so there was no winter weather advisory. However the NWS in South Burlington, as of 10 a.m. this morning, was re-evaluating this. Given the cold north flow, the onset of precipitation this evening will probably be in the form of freezing rain in much of the Champlain Valley.

The only saving grace is the rain looks like it will start a little later than it did last evening, which means more people will have arrived home from work before the mess starts than last night.

Tonight, again, will be much like Monday night. Overnight, the winds from the south will really pick up, so after midnight, anything that comes out of the sky will be non-frozen rain. The last places to end the icing will be the protected valleys of north central and northeastern Vermont.

Then, another rinse and repeat. Just like Tuesday, Friday morning will be warm - in the 40s. That, I hope, would melt some of the accumulated ice out there Then, like Tuesday, temperatures will fall in the afternoon, and be below freezing by evening. Which of course means there will be more ice underfoot.

Enjoy!