Fluctuations in US Freezing Rain Days

Freezing rain occurrences during a 50-year period, 1949/1950–1998/1999, derived from carefully examined records of 161 first-order stations distributed across the United States, were assessed for temporal fluctuations and trends. Classification of station fluctuations based on five 10-year periods revealed five unique distribution types in areas east of the Rockies. One of these five distributions, for stations located in the western Great Plains, experienced its greatest 10-year value at the end of the 50-year period. The other four regional distributions experienced their highest 10-year value in either of the first two 10-year periods. Nationally, the 10-year period when the greatest number of stations experienced their maximum value was 1949/1950–1958/1959, while the period when the greatest number of stations experienced their minimum value fell near the end of the 50-year record (1979/1980–1988/1989). The 50-year linear trends defined one region, the western Great Plains, with increasing values, while three areas of decreasing trend were identified; the Great Lakes, the eastern Ohio River valley, and southern New England. These analyses also indicate the need to examine and consider such time–space changes in the frequency of climate variables at various spatial scales when assessing weather risks and developing climate change scenarios.