Precipitation, Our Friend?

Hello,

I worked yesterday with a closing time of 8:00 pm. There was some talk about more snow to come, but any time I looked out I did not see it. No patrons talked about anything coming from the sky. That felt good.

When I got to the car I found that there was a film on the windows. Uh oh, it did not wipe off with my glove. The ice scrapper took it off, but pressure had to be applied. As usual I did the back window first before tackling the front. The windshield wipers were not stuck which seemed like a good sign.

After turning on the car, backing out and getting to the corner, the front window was again coated. The wipers were not very effective. I could see, but it was a little fuzzy. Front and back defroster were turned on. About a mile or two later the, view was worse except for a hole that was close to the bottom of the window.  I kept going another two miles hoping it would clear. When it did not I turned into a street that would take me to a filling station where I could safely scrape that window. Just as I pulled into the station the window cleared. Soon I was back on the road, but still with a great deal of caution as it was unclear how slippery the road was.

Even after I was on that interstate I crept along with a few others. Now my windshield was getting covered once more. I turned the heat up to about 80 hoping that would make all the difference. It helped some, but not as much as I wanted. Perhaps changing direction made the difference between clear and coated.

I took the hospital exit, assuming that it would be passible. It was fine. Then I used the main street for a mile or so. The street closer to my house was not so good, but passable. The alley was the real challenge. The only time I slipped was getting into the garage. Once more I was grateful to make it home.

How can there be freezing rain when the temperature is 19 degrees F.?

Paula