Technical Report 2002-01 National Climatic Data Center The Development of a U.S. Climatology of Extreme Ice Loads Kathy Jones (CRREL), Ron Thorkildson (BPA), Neal Lott (NCDC) wllrne90 ATMOSP, 0 US Department of Commerce NOAA/ NESDIS National Climatic Data Center Asheville, NC 28801-5696 December 2002 National Climatic Data Center Technical Report No. 2002-01 The Development of a U.S. Climatology Of Extreme Ice Loads Kathy Jones, Research Physical Scientist, Snow and Ice Branch, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, NH, kathleen.f.jones(dýerdc.usace.army.mil Ron Thorkildson, Meteorologist, Conductor Design, Bonneville Power Administration, Vancouver, WA, rthorkildson(qbpa.gov Neal Lott, Physical Scientist, Data Access Branch, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC,
[email protected] December 2002 U.S. Dept of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Service National Climatic Data Center Asheville, NC 28801-5001 Abstract Ice thickness (and therefore weight) is a key engineering design consideration in.the construction of many structures which are subject to outdoor weather. This includes most load-bearing structures, such as cables, towers, wires, etc. Detailed information for engineers regarding ice loads from freezing rain has been sorely lacking, due to a deficiency of site-specific data. Therefore, beginning in 1994, a consortium of individuals and government agencies undertook a project to produce a U.S. climatology of ice thickness due to freezing rain, in the form of an extreme value analysis. This effort, under the auspices of the American Society of Civil Engineers, utilized data modeling techniques to develop such a climatology.