Black Thursday Q&A

[CharlotteC]

No that sounds about right to me David. That much water would take temps closer to the double digits in the negative to freeze that much water quickly from what I know of ice.

[Alexandrea]

No that sounds about right to me David. That much water would take temps closer to the double digits in the negative to freeze that much water quickly from what I know of ice.

I agree 100%

[Mooncalf]

Even if it only takes half an hour for the burst river banks (and etc) to freeze, we're still talking about a torrent of icy water rushing through the streets, freezing doorways shut and all sorts of other fun things. I'm not sure how long THAT much flowing water takes to freeze at -5 C, but it's definitely not instant.

[Doc]

And as long as the water is moving.. its not freezing that fast, only after it starts to slow..

[Cassandra]

I'm trying to find something persuasive and visual from it, but Indiana just had a horrible ice storm this last weekend that tore branches off trees and froze cars to the street, and they were almost exactly in the temp range you're stating. Kept all in one place like a fast-moving river, water's less likely to freeze. Flooding actually makes it more likely to, because it's being spread out over a wider area, sprayed through the air by high winds, and so forth. It's like the pictures of iced-over lighthouses - the water might only have a few inches of ice on it when it's standing, but you add wind and it's a whole different story.

But, like you said, fictional Canada, so as long as everyone's on the same page...

[Mooncalf]

And as long as the water is moving.. its not freezing that fast, only after it starts to slow..

Which gives people enough time to need to find shelter from sudden flood waters after the earthquake, I guess. :) Not much fun being frozen in fae-infested waters, which have swept you down main street, past all the electrical wiring snaking out all over the streets, lol. If the waters freeze during the course of the roleplay (which they might), then that's another reason to maybe not want to venture out into it right away.

[Mooncalf]

I'm trying to find something persuasive and visual from it, but Indiana just had a horrible ice storm this last weekend that tore branches off trees and froze cars to the street, and they were almost exactly in the temp range you're stating. Kept all in one place like a fast-moving river, water's less likely to freeze. Flooding actually makes it more likely to, because it's being spread out over a wider area, sprayed through the air by high winds, and so forth. It's like the pictures of iced-over lighthouses - the water might only have a few inches of ice on it when it's standing, but you add wind and it's a whole different story.

But, like you said, fictional Canada, so as long as everyone's on the same page...

We get -5 C temperatures in the UK most years in the dead of winter, and we don't really get ice storms, instant freezing of any water, or rivers with ice thicker than a foot. I'm just speaking from experience, though, as I haven't looked it up.

[Alexandrea]

Historically (according to the Wiki) The river has flooded before and there was also a great fire way back in the very early start of the town. Given the shifting of Teutonic plates (VERY odd in that part of the country, I smell a Fae like Nix said ) from the earthquake, the River changing course isn't impossible. Improbable, yes... but ya can't get hung upon every little detail or the fun gets lost in the stress. KISMIF

[CharlotteC]

I personally don't think it's possible at that temp which is only just below the freezing point of water (that isn't moving at all) that water moving that fast or just in general would even freeze until it stopped moving. There's just too much of it and rivers move too fast.

[Mooncalf]

Historically (according to the Wiki) The river has flooded before and there was also a great fire way back in the very early start of the town. Given the shifting of Teutonic plates (VERY odd in that part of the country, I smell a Fae like Nix said ) from the earthquake, the River changing course isn't impossible. Improbable, yes... but ya can't get hung upon every little detail or the fun gets lost in the stress. KISMIF

We're not really talking about the river changing course here, we're talking about the banks bursting due to a number of contributing factors during the storms and quakes.