The Ice Storm of 1998?

Question

We are doing a project on the ice stroms of 1998

1. I was woundering about how the stroms had scocial effects(what happened to the people) economic effects(finacial costs to famileis and businesses) and enviromental effects(What happened to the land and natural resources)

2.Why did the strom happen(the scientific explanation behind the phenomena).

Answer 1

The North American Ice storm of 1998 (also known as Ice storm of 1998 and Ice Storm '98) was a massive ice storm that struck a relatively narrow swath of land from Eastern Ontario to southern Quebec to Nova Scotia in Canada, and bordering areas from Northern New York to Southeast Maine in the United States, in January 1998. It caused massive damage to trees and electrical infrastructure all over the area, leading to widespread long-term power outages. Millions were left in the dark for periods varying from days to weeks, leading to more than 30 fatalities, a shut down of activities in large cities like Montreal and Ottawa, and an unprecedented effort in reconstruction of the power grid.

On January 4, 1998, an upper level low system stalled over the Great Lakes, pumping warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico toward the upper St. Lawrence Valley. The upper flow then turned eastward, bringing this air mass down toward the Bay of Fundy. At the same time, a high pressure center was sitting farther north in Labrador, keeping an easterly flow of very cold air near the surface. For the winter, an unusually strong Bermuda high pressure area was anchored over the Atlantic Ocean, which prevented these systems from moving further to the east, as most winter storms do when they pass over the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence region.

A series of surface low pressure systems passed in this atmospheric circulation between January 5 and January 10, 1998. For more than 80 hours, steady freezing rain and drizzle fell over an area of several thousand square miles of Eastern Ontario, including Ottawa and Kingston, an extensive area in southern Quebec, northern New York, and northern New England (including parts of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine).

Further to the south, southern Ontario and western New York, as well as much of the Appalachian region from Tennessee northward, received heavy rain and severe flooding, while further east, the Canadian Maritimes mostly received heavy snow. Exacerbating the problem was a steep drop in temperature that immediately followed the passage of the freezing rain, which combined with the extreme power outages led to numerous indirect deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning from generators and other sources as people desperately tried to remain warm.

Answer 2

As far as the technical side, wikipedia can explain it far better than I can: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_Storm_1...

As far as the social effects, it was a rough time. Depending on where you were hit, power was gone for a couple of days to as many as a couple of weeks. This mean no hot water, cold storage, or electricity. Not only that but there was no where really to turn to. So many areas were affected that you couldn't just go stay with friends or family. It was frustrating to say the least. Not only that but the storm did a lot of damage. Ice clung to the trees causing weaker trees to fall over often damaging property as it fell.

It was certainly one heck of a storm.

Answer 3

I believe there is a documentry done of this. Any significant storm is going to effect people and the economy. Just fog for instance can do a lot of damage. When you have freezing rain (falling rain that freezes when it touches the surface) It continues to build up. Power lines can only handle so much weight, and when you get an inch of ice on a power line, they will snap and a whole city can lose power! Ice effects transportation as well, making it hard for people to get food..etc. Ice will kill crops, and it could even kill livestock. So it is a huge chain reaction. You will have to look up why they storm happened. I know the jet streams (Polar and subtropical) got close together causing there to be a lot of moisture from the gulf and a lot of cold from the north (canda). Also the way a low forms, and with the surrounding landscape... Hopefully I helped a little.