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    WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN NORTH CAROLINA
                NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4 2010
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THIS WEEK HAS BEEN DECLARED WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN 
NORTH CAROLINA. ALL WEEK THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL IS 
ISSUING INFORMATIVE MESSAGES TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER.

EACH DAY WE WILL COVER A DIFFERENT TOPIC. TODAY WE WILL TALK ABOUT 
THE DANGERS OF ICE IN THE FORM OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET.

ICE FALLING IN THE FORM OF FREEZING RAIN IS PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS 
AND POSES A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS. FREEZING RAIN OCCURS WHEN LIQUID 
PRECIPITATION...WHICH COULD BE RAIN OR MELTED SNOW...STRIKES A 
SURFACE THAT IS BELOW FREEZING. IN THIS SCENARIO TEMPERATURES AT THE 
SURFACE ARE BELOW FREEZING WHILE AT LEAST A PORTION OF THE 
ATMOSPHERE IS ABOVE FREEZING. THE LIQUID PRECIPITATION FREEZES UPON 
CONTACT WITH THE GROUND...TREES...POWER LINES AND ROADWAYS.

THE ABILITY OF FREEZING RAIN TO ACCUMULATE ON NEARLY EVERY SURFACE 
INCLUDING TREES...POWER LINES AND BRIDGES MAKES IT ONE OF THE MOST 
DANGEROUS FORMS OF WINTER WEATHER. AS LITTLE AS A QUARTER INCH OF 
FREEZING RAIN CAN CREATE WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES.

JUST SMALL AMOUNTS OF FREEZING RAIN CAN COVER THE PAVEMENT AND 
ESPECIALLY BRIDGES WITH A SOLID GLAZE OF ICE MAKING DRIVING EXTREMELY 
DANGEROUS AND NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE. OVER 85 PERCENT OF ICE STORM DEATHS 
ARE TRAFFIC RELATED. FREEZING RAIN WILL EVEN ACCUMULATE ON THE 
STEPS AND RAILING OF YOUR HOME MAKING GOING OUT THE DOOR HAZARDOUS. 
MANY INJURIES OCCUR EVERY YEAR WHEN PEOPLE SLIP ON ICE.

SLEET CAN ALSO BE DANGEROUS FOR MOTORISTS. SLEET FORMS WHEN A 
RAINDROP FALLS AND ENCOUNTERS FREEZING TEMPERATURES ABOVE THE 
EARTH'S SURFACE AND FREEZES INTO AN ICE PELLET JUST BEFORE REACHING 
THE GROUND. SLEET CAN ACCUMULATE VERY EFFICIENTLY ON ROADS AND 
SIDEWALKS. THIS IS WHY SLEET CAN MAKE ROADWAYS AND WALKWAYS VERY 
DANGEROUS IN JUST A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

WHEN DRIVING...ICE CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO RECOGNIZE. THE ROADWAY 
MAY APPEAR TO BE WET WHEN IN REALITY WHAT APPEARS TO BE WATER MAY 
ACTUALLY BE ICE. IF THE TEMPERATURE OUTSIDE IS BELOW FREEZING...ICE 
CAN FORM ON THE ROADS...ESPECIALLY ON BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES. WHEN 
ENCOUNTERING ICE DO NO PANIC AND DO NOT STOMP ON YOUR BRAKES. 
STRIKING YOUR BRAKES WILL CAUSE YOUR CAR TO SLIDE INTO A SKID. IT IS 
SAFER TO SLOWLY DECELERATE TO A STOP. DRIVING SLOW AND DEFENSIVELY 
GOES A LONG WAY WHEN DRIVING ON ICE AND SNOW.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES WINTER STORM WATCHES AND 
WARNINGS WHEN A QUARTER INCH OR MORE OF FREEZING RAIN IS FORECAST. 
THESE WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE ISSUED TO HELP PROTECT LIFE AND 
PROPERTY...ALLOWING LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO PREPARE FOR THE WINTER 
WEATHER. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE ISSUED WHEN LIGHT 
ACCUMULATIONS OF FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET LESS THAN A QUARTER OF AN 
INCH ARE EXPECTED TO CAUSE TRAVEL PROBLEMS AND HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS CAN BE 
OBTAINED ON-LINE THROUGH THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY 
MANAGEMENT HOME PAGE AT: HTTP//READYNC.ORG

UP TO DATE WEATHER INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT:
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BLACKSBURG.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEB SITE IS:
WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINTER/INDEX.SHTML