Starting from the 19th, freezing rain and cooling weather occurred in some areas of Gansu and Shaanxi, causing traffic congestion. Freezing rain freezes immediately when it collides with objects with a temperature below 0°C, and condenses into ice very quickly. What impact will freezing rain have on highways, railways, civil aviation and other transportation?
Freezing rain can cause icy roads and create glare that affects driving
Gao Jingjing, senior engineer at the Public Meteorological Service Center of the China Meteorological Administration: On highways, freezing rain can easily lead to icy roads, causing vehicles to slip and drift. In addition, icy roads will also produce glare under strong light, reducing the driver's vision, which will also become a potential risk to the driver's safe driving.
Freezing rain can cause trains to slow down or even stop running.
In terms of railways, since most current trains are mainly powered by electricity, each car will have an upward extending device called a pantograph. The pantograph is connected to the high-voltage contact network to transmit power to the train. Freezing rain falls on the contact line and quickly wraps it into ice, which will cause the locomotive's pantograph to have poor current flow. The current will not meet the driving requirements, and the train will slow down or even stop running. At the same time, freezing rain weather will also cause ice to form on the track. The train will need longer time and greater distance when accelerating and braking, making the train slower.
Freezing rain will cause airport runways to freeze, affecting flight takeoffs and landings
In terms of aviation, freezing rain will cause the airport runway to freeze, making the taxiing distance of the aircraft longer during takeoff and landing, and even directly causing the aircraft to be unable to take off and land, affecting the safety and efficiency of flight operations.
It is recommended that the public pay close attention to the latest weather forecast from the meteorological department in the near future and try to avoid freezing rain areas when traveling. They should also pay attention to the dynamic information on railways and aviation in a timely manner and make good travel plans.