A devastating side of nature

Freezing rain is a term to describe the phenomenon of rain falling through air that is above the freezing point and lands on objects that are below the freezing point.

Freezing rain can be one of nature's most devastating occurrences, leading to major power outages during cold weather and making automobile travel impossible.

Almost anything suspended above ground can be at risk during times of freezing rain. Trees and power lines are especially vulnerable. Often freezing rain will fall gently accompanied by almost no wind. The greatest damage usually comes to trees when winds begin to blow after ice has accumulated on the tops of limbs to a thickness of more than one-quarter inch.

The wind sways the trees and the rigidity and added weight caused by the ice causes limbs and sometimes whole trees to come crashing down.

Winter songbirds can become stressed by the effects of freezing rain if the ice remains for an extended time. Covered in ice, their natural food source is essentially out of reach. Hawks and woodpeckers generally fair better. A full bird feeder is most valuable to birds such as this female cardinal during times of freezing rain.