There won’t be a happy or funny post today.
This time of year, most folks are eager to get outside because the sun is here longer now, and it’s getting warmer during the day. It has been close to 40 degrees most afternoons this week, but at night, it gets cold again and in the morning we are waking up to single digits still. It’s a “freeze and thaw” cycle that we see a couple times a year.
During the day, the snow is melting and the roads begin to thaw, which can create a false sense of security for drivers. But there is still something known as “black ice” lurking under the melt off in shaded and less used areas of the roads. It’s hard to see, but once you’ve hit it, you know it.
The first photo was taken this morning, and these roundabouts are covered with a very thin film of ice. I slid a tiny bit on one even going 10 mph in my all wheel drive car.
The second photo was taken this afternoon, on a road I take to get home every day. This particular spot is shaded by the afternoon sun, so there’s still quite a bit of ice on it, and it’s fairly visible from a ways away. It will begin to melt over the next few weeks until there’s no ice left on the road at all. But notice the dark streak right in the middle of the lane. That’s black ice. When all of the thick white ice around it has melted, it will remain for a while. I know it’s there, so I will be sure to slow down for it. But if I didn’t, it could put me in a ditch or worse.
Sadly, there was an accident on Monday afternoon that took the lives of two young people and injured a passenger and the driver of another vehicle on nearby Badger Road. I did not personally know any of the victims, but my daughter was a friend of theirs in high school.
The two that died and their passenger were not wearing seat belts. Alaska friends, even when it’s 40 degrees out, never take these roads for granted and always wear your seat belts.
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