Since 2009, the strongest winter rain, snow and freezing weather is affecting China, and the strong intensity and large impact range of freezing rain are one of the characteristics of this weather. Today (1 February), the Meteorological Observatory issued the first Orange Alert for Freezing in 2024, the second time in a decade.
The early warning information shows that from February 1 to 4, there will be persistent freezing rain in parts of southern Henan, Hubei, central and northern Anhui, northern Jiangsu, central and northern Hunan, eastern Guizhou, and southeastern Chongqing. Among them, from 14 o'clock on February 1 to 14 o'clock on the 2nd, the cumulative freezing rainfall in parts of southern Henan, central and northern Anhui, southwestern and central eastern Hubei, central and northern Hunan, northeast Guizhou, and southeastern Chongqing can reach 3 8mm, and more than 10mm locally.
Figure China Meteorological Administration.
Freezing warnings are not common. On December 13, 2023, a widespread rain, snow and cold wave began to affect the central and eastern regions. At that time, the ** meteorological observatory issued a freezing warning again after ten years, and this is the second time in ten years that it has been issued.
Freezing rain is a kind of destructive weather, which has a great impact on transportation, agricultural production, power and communication.
When freezing rain falls on the road, traffic will be blocked by icy ground, which will also increase the chance of traffic accidents. During the Spring Festival in January 2008, freezing rain occurred in many places in the south, and many highways in 19 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities such as Hunan, Guizhou, Anhui and Jiangxi were congested, and tens of thousands of vehicles were stranded. In addition to affecting the road, when the airport encounters freezing rain, the flight path will freeze, the flight will not be able to take off and land normally, and air transportation is often affected by the icing of the engine, threatening the flight safety of the aircraft.
When the rain freezes on the power lines, the wires shrink when cold, coupled with the weight of the ice itself and the effect of the wind, the wires will be in danger of breaking, causing large-scale power outages in the surrounding towns. In November 2020, the three northeastern provinces experienced rare freezing rain, and the local power and network were completely paralyzed, and the local power and network were cut off for more than 10 hours.
When freezing rain falls on crops, in addition to the attached ice shell, which often damages crops, the cold weather associated with freezing rain will also cause frost damage to crops, such as freezing to death or frostbite crop seedlings, fruit trees, etc. In January 1984, under the influence of strong cold air, 10% of the rapeseed in Guizhou that had been mossed early was damaged by frost. Meteorological experts reminded that in order to reduce the damage of freezing rain, farmers can strengthen the management of field insulation, and pull up plastic sheds, plastic sheets and other sheltering items in time to protect crops. In addition, regular inspections of vegetable greenhouses and livestock pens can also be strengthened during the high incidence of freezing rain, and timely repairs can be made to prevent losses.
Reporter Wang Jingxi.
Edited by Tang Zheng.
Proofread by Diyan Chen.
Operations Editor: Liu Qianxian.