Why Freezing Rain Can Be More Dangerous Than Snow
In January 1998, freezing rain fell across Eastern Canada for five straight days. 40-100 millimeters of ice covered everything from Montreal to Ottawa. 4.7 million people lost power. Some rural customers waited up to 35 days in the cold and dark. The military sent over 16,000 troops. Total damage beat $5 billion.
Snow had never made that much trouble. Ice stuck to every surface until whole systems broke under the weight.
What Is Freezing Rain?
Freezing rain happens when the air stacks warm and cold layers in a special way that makes rain deadly.
The three-layer setup:
High altitude: Below 0°C (snowflakes form in clouds)
Middle layer: Above 0°C (warm pocket melts snow into rain)
Ground level: Below 0°C but shallow (rain stays liquid until impact)
The ground-level cold layer matters most. When this layer hits 200-400 meters thick, it creates the danger zone.
Too thick and rain turns back into sleet pellets that bounce harmlessly off surfaces. Too thin or gone and you get regular rain. The perfect thickness keeps raindrops liquid but super-cold.
These super-cold drops hit surfaces at 0°C or colder and freeze instantly. The first layer sticks to metal, wood, and pavement. Each new drop builds on the last, creating ice shells that grow thicker by the hour.
Why temperature matters: Freezing rain forms most often when ground temperatures stay between -5°C and 0°C. Colder than -10°C, you usually get snow. Warmer than 0°C, it stays the form of rain. That narrow band makes forecasting tough. A two-degree shift changes everything.
Why Freezing Rain Is So Dangerous
Ice Adds Weight That Builds Fast
A cubic meter of fresh snow weighs roughly 70-200 kilograms. The same volume of ice from freezing rain weighs 900 kilograms.
But weight alone doesn't tell the full story. Where ice builds up makes it deadly.
Snow lands mostly on top of branches and power lines. Wind blows some away. Branches shake loose under their own weight.
Ice wraps around everything. It forms a cylinder around every wire, every twig, every surface. A 2-centimeter ice coating on a 100-meter power line adds 250 kilograms of weight. The line sags. More ice builds at the sag point. The cycle speeds up until something breaks.
During the 1998 storm, some transmission towers carried ice loads exceeding 100 tonnes—three times their design capacity. The towers didn't just bend. They crumpled like aluminum cans.
Trees Become Projectiles
Ontario has millions of roadside and urban trees within falling distance of power lines. Many are silver maples, poplars, and willows. These species have brittle wood that snaps under ice loading.
A mature silver maple branch about 15 centimeters in diameter can fail under ice loads on the order of 10 kilograms of ice load, depending on defects and wind. That break sends the branch crashing down at speeds approaching 50 kilometers per hour.
Utility companies report that a large majority of power outages during ice storms come from tree contact, not direct line failure. A single falling limb can take out multiple circuits. Crews spend more time clearing trees than repairing electrical equipment.
Snow loads branches evenly. They bend, sometimes to the ground, then spring back when snow slides off. Ice-loaded branches don't bend. They snap cleanly, often taking neighboring branches down in a chain reaction.
Ground Conditions Prevent Quick Response
Roads ice over within the first hour of freezing rain. Salt helps between 0°C and -7°C but loses power as temperatures drop. Sand gives grip but doesn't melt ice.
Road crews can treat main roads but often can't reach side streets and rural roads for days.
Repair trucks weigh 15,000–20,000 kilograms. On ice, they can't safely climb slopes steeper than 5 degrees. They slide at turns. They can't steady bucket trucks on shaky ground.
A repair job that takes 90 minutes in summer can take six hours in ice. Most of that time goes to reaching the site and setting up safely.
Freezing Rain vs. Snow: Which Causes More Power Outages
Insurance data shows ice storms make 3-5 times more claims per centimeter of precipitation than snowstorms.
Damage comparison:
| Impact Factor | Freezing Rain | Heavy Snow |
| Weight (per cm) | Up to 10x heavier | Reference point |
| Adhesion | Permanent bond | Rests on surface |
| Wind resistance | Increases drag 300% | Reduces in wind |
| Repair access | Roads blocked | Clearable within hours |
| Duration | Days to weeks | Hours to days |
More recent events confirm the pattern. The 2013 Toronto ice storm dropped only 10 millimeters of ice but left about 300,000 customers without power for up to seven days. By comparison, the winter of 2022 saw multiple snowfalls exceeding 40 centimeters with minimal lasting outages.
Infrastructure Age Makes It Worse
Ontario's electrical system averages 45 years old. Quebec's nears 50 years in some areas. These systems were built when energy needs were 60% lower and trees were less thick around power lines.
Overhead lines rule in older neighborhoods. Underground cables show up mainly in new areas built after 1990, where builders paid 5-10x higher costs.
During the 2013 ice storm, Toronto's older areas with overhead lines and big trees saw outages lasting 5-7 days. Newer spots 15 kilometers away with underground lines never lost power.
Utilities can't afford to upgrade old zones cheaply. Trenching streets costs $200-300 per meter. Switching 10 kilometers of overhead to underground tops $3 million. So old overhead systems stay.
How Long Does It Take to Restore Power After Freezing Rain?
The 2013 Toronto ice storm gives real numbers. Toronto Hydro sent every crew—hundreds of workers plus contractors from nearby utilities. They worked 16-hour shifts in rough conditions.
The last customer got power after seven full days.
What slows restoration:
Assessment (6-24 hours): Crews can't check damage until roads pass. They drive every line for breaks. Ice hides tree damage from ground view.
Sort priorities (12-48 hours): Utilities fix hospitals, water plants, emergency services first. Then main lines for thousands. Then smaller lines for hundreds. Homes last. End of side street? You're last.
Repair (24 hours to 2 weeks): Simple fixes take hours. Pole swaps take days. Full rebuilds take weeks. During the 1998 ice storm, Hydro-Québec replaced around 30,000 wooden poles and over 1,000 steel transmission towers. Some rural customers waited 21 days.
Winter drags everything:
Daylight ends at 5 PM (crews lose 4-5 hours daily)
Cold cuts power tool battery life by 40%
Ice-covered poles can't be climbed safely without treatment
Frozen ground stops new pole installs without special gear
Below -15°C, crews rotate every 45 minutes against frostbite
The difference from summer stands out. A July storm might break 50 poles. Crews fix in 48-72 hours. January ice breaking same 50 poles takes 7-10 days—every step slower in winter.
How to Prepare for Freezing Rain
Check Your Real Risk
Check your utility's outage history. Ontario and Quebec utilities share this by postal code. If your area averaged more than 12 outage hours yearly over past five years, you're in a weak spot.
Look at your street. Overhead lines plus mature trees means risk. Count large branches (over 10 cm thick) within 5 meters of power lines. Each one's a failure point.
Get Backup Power That Fits the Risk
A portable generator with extension cords works for 4-8 hour outages. Multi-day winter blackouts need whole-home setup.
EcoFlow DELTA Pro Ultra handles freezing rain cases. With 6kWh to 90kWh capacity, powers key systems through week-long outages—no fuel or noise. Self-heating battery kicks in below 0°C for Canadian winters.
Quick switchover guards electronics from power surges when grid returns.
Typical home uses 30 kWh daily. In outages, cut to basics (no electric heat, light cooking) drops to 8-12 kWh daily. The 12kWh system gives 20-30 hours depending on conditions. Go 24kWh for days of safety.
Actual runtime varies with temperature, usage, and battery condition.
Ready Your Property
Three weeks before winter:
- Hire certified tree trimmer to clear deadwood and branches over lines (utilities skip private trees)
- Find furnace circuit (top backup need)
- Test sump pump battery backup if you have one
- Snap photo of electrical panel for insurance
When freezing rain warnings hit (usually 12-24 hours notice):
- Fill bathtubs with water (power out stops pumps)
- Charge all devices and backup batteries
- Move cars from trees and power lines
- Stock non-refrigerated food for 72 hours minimum
- Fill prescriptions if due soon
- Pull cash (ATMs fail without power)
Often-missed step: Know your main water shutoff spot. Long outages freeze pipes. Furnace fails and temps drop below 10°C inside? Drain pipes to save thousands in damage.
Build Neighborhood Links
1998 ice storm survivors say one thing mattered most: knowing neighbors. Woodstove homes sheltered cold ones. Generator houses shared phone charging. Groups cooked shared food from thawing freezers.
Swap phone numbers with three nearest homes now, not in crisis. Spot who has health needs, generators, 4WD for supply runs.
In 2013 Toronto storm, neighbor groups helped more than official aid.
Staying Safe During a Winter Storm
Downed Lines Kill
Think every downed wire carries full power. Ice hides them. Black wires mix with dark road trash.
Stay 10 feet back at least. Ice on ground spreads current farther than you think. 1998 storm killed 28, many touching iced hidden lines.
Report lines right away but leave area first. Big storms mean thousands of calls. Crews take 24-48 hours.
Mark spot with cones or bright cloth if handy, warn neighbors, keep clear.
Carbon Monoxide Kills Faster Than Cold
Every ice storm sees CO deaths from wrong generator use or indoor grills/camping stoves. CO has no smell, fills sealed spaces fast.
Symptoms mimic flu—headache, nausea, confusion—then blackout and death in hours.
Never run generators in garages, even doors open. Exhaust leaks indoors. Keep 20 feet from building openings (doors, windows, vents). Point exhaust from house.
Never use gas stoves, propane heaters, charcoal indoors. They hit deadly levels in closed rooms in 30-60 minutes.
Know When to Leave
Indoor temps below 10°C with no safe heat? Leave. Hypothermia starts at body core just 2°C below normal. Elderly and babies lose heat quickest.
1998 storm shelters held over 100,000 at peak. No shame leaving. Burst pipes cost less than hypothermia treatment.
Watch roof ice dams. Icicles over 30 cm or water marks on ceilings during rain mean ice dams forming, big damage risk. Fix quick or leave if worse.
Whole-home backups keep furnace, fridge, key gear running in grid failure, hold safe indoor temps through long outages.
FAQ
Q1: Why does freezing rain happen more often in some winters than others?
Freezing rain requires a warm layer between 850 and 700 millibars (about 1,500 to 3,000 meters up) and two cold layers on either side of it for freezing rain to happen. Freezing rain occurs more often in Central and Eastern Canada during El Niño years because more warm air comes in. It's colder and drier during La Niña years, so there is more snow and less freezing rain.
Q2: What's the difference between freezing rain and snow on radar?
Radar can show the amount of rain or snow, but it can't directly find freezing rain. Radar only sees rain or ice in the air, not how cold the surface is, which is what makes it freeze on contact. Forecasters use radar data, surface temperatures, soundings from weather balloons, and satellite pictures to make their predictions. A difference of just 1-2°C at ground level changes the type of rain or snow that falls totally. Always pay attention to warnings.
Q3: How do power companies decide which places to fix first?
Utilities use a formal priority system to decide what to fix first. First: critical infrastructure like hospitals; then regional transmission lines, which affect millions of people; then neighborhood feeders, which affect hundreds to thousands of people; finally, individual homes. The biggest problems are fixed first in each tier. That's why service trucks may drive by your dark street more than once—they're on their way to bigger problems.
Q4: Will climate change make freezing rain more common in Canada?
Most climate models show a range of trends. Freezing rain needs certain layers of temperature in the air, which are thrown off by warming. Freezing rain may occur less often in Southern Canada by 2050 because winters will be warm enough for regular rain. Things that do happen will be worse, though. Since warmer air holds more water, ice forms more quickly—possibly 8–10 mm per hour instead of 5 mm in the past.