Ok this was too precious an opportunity to miss.
The title of todays main weather story in the Fairbanks News Miner
"Above-freezing temperatures threaten icy driving"
Ok so there are those of you thinking "huh!?" I did too for a moment, then realized what they meant which is
"Above freezing temperatures threaten treacherous driving"
So to quickly explain, driving on the roads in AK when it's 10 degrees or below is actually pretty safe, yes you're driving on ice but that's fine you get a lot more traction that you do at 20 degrees through 32 degrees. While this seems counter-intuitive it isn't slick roads and "slippy" driving conditions happen because you have a layer of water between your tires and the ice, when it's too cold for that water to remain liquid, then the slippiness ceases to be a problem. At 10 degrees and below you can drive at near posted speed limits and not have too many issues (I actually tend to hit bends, curves and turns at 10 mph below what I would in dry sunny conditions). Who'da thunk it?
[Plickety sez: Nothing irks me more than "professional" writers who make such blaring grammatical errors. And what useless editor let this one through?! Having worked in the biz, I understand the need for short, catchy headlines; but how about "Above-freezing temperatures -- threats of icy driving" or "Threats of icy driving as temperatures rise" ?! Sigh, it's a peeve.]
2 comments:
That is something I have always wondered! :) Thanks for clearing that up.
Lindy, just a blog follower :)
I had never thought of it before, but it became a pet peeve when I overheard the Managing Editor tell a reporter, "It's redundant to say, 'totally destroyed'. It's either destroyed, or it isn't".
I guess he was right.
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