What causes ice?

There is one thing that is dreaded during the winter time more than anything else: Ice. Snow can be plowed and disposed of quickly. Ice is much more difficult to deal with. Proper ice removal or treatment is key for any business with a parking lot.

The most common way ice forms is from snow that melts during the day when temperatures go above freezing and then refreezes when the temperatures go down at night. The water that comes from melted snow follows the law of physics and the path of least resistance and flows downhill. Chances are whatever spot it flows to will gather other streams which could lead to a large amount of ice forming. Any open space with snow is vulnerable to a refreeze. That’s great if you want a pond to ice skate on but it’s bad if you own a parking lot and want your customers to park their cars in it.

To deal with this a surface can be treated. A chemical treatment can be applied that will either melt ice or prevent it from forming or a more natural treatment like rock salt or sand can be applied. The solution decomposes when it comes into contact with water and it gives off heat thereby melting the ice. The salt also lowers the melting temperature of ice, making more water as the ice melts, and thereby dissolving it in an endless cycle, or until the temperature drops too low for the cycle to continue. That is why municipalities have rock salt by the tons stored and ready to go.

What is perhaps more worrisome is an actual ice storm. While being picturesque these storms can bring down trees knocking out power to thousands in the middle of winter. These events are caused by raindrops moving into a thin layer of below-freezing air just above the planet’s surface and are also known as freezing rain. This freezing air allows the drops to freeze when they come in contact with whatever is on the ground, from a tree to your car. Ice can begin to accumulate when these drops come in contact with surfaces that are below the freezing point. This ice can cover any surface with a smooth and sometimes very thick sheet of solid ice (it can be 3 inches thick!) and it can increase something’s weight by 30 times, which is why some many tree limbs come crashing down.

These storms are most common in the Midwest and the Northeast. Ice can cause thousands of automobile crashes when vehicles skid out of control causing a chain reaction behind them. Injured parties can die of exposure while waiting for help or from their car just breaking down (remember it is a good idea to have an emergency kit in your car!). Broken bones can occur when someone falls on a sidewalk. Black ice is the most notorious hazard. It forms when the air is below freezing but rain is falling. The ground temperature causes the rain to freeze on impact. It is able to blend in with its surroundings and can be unnoticeable. It can also be formed as a result of sleet and refreezing.

Proper ice management and treatment comes with years of experience and having the right equipment. Treating a road surface or parking lot can go a long way to preventing ice from forming, thereby making your parking lot a lot less hazardous for your customers. Michael B. Stoner Inc. has been in the ice removal and prevention business for 30 years and has the equipment and experience to deal with whatever Mother Nature can throw at Central Pennsylvania. If your business is in Chambersburg, Carlisle, Mechanicsburg, Hershey, Middletown or Harrisburg and you need someone to handle your snow or ice removal services or are unhappy with who is doing it for you now give us a call at 717-245-2225 or visit our contact page. Don’t wait until it is too later!