What is Black Ice and Why is it so Dangerous?
What is black ice, and what makes it so dangerous? Knowing what black ice on roads is and how to respond to it in case you come across it is crucial to keep you, your passengers, and others safe. It is most simply described as a thin layer of extremely translucent ice. It is translucent because it is thin and mixes with road pavements, rendering it difficult to observe. Black ice gets its name from the color of the road pavement on which it forms. The fact that black ice can develop on days when no precipitation has fallen makes it much more difficult to notice. It can originate in one of three ways in general. One of those comes from snowmelt. The water may not completely evaporate off the pavement when daytime temperatures rise above freezing or when plenty of sunshine helps melt snow on or close to roads. That melting precipitation will refreeze if it is left on the pavement in below-freezing temperatures. Travel conditions may get treacherous as a result. When l...