Hello, young scientists! Welcome to our final day of “winter wonders”. Today, we are going to be diving deeper into the science of freezing rain.

Have you ever been outside on a cold winter day and noticed that the rain was freezing on contact with the ground? This type of precipitation is called freezing rain and it can cause serious problems, like power outages and dangerous driving conditions. But how does freezing rain form in the first place?

To understand the science behind freezing rain, we need to look at the temperature of the air and the ground. When the air is colder than the ground, the rain droplets that fall from the sky will freeze before they reach the ground. This creates a layer of ice on everything it touches, including trees, cars, and power lines. On the other hand, when the air is warmer than the ground, the rain droplets will not freeze and will instead fall as liquid rain.

Today’s experiment addresses why salt is used on icy roads. You’ll find it over there in the blog.