Winter. Long awaited vacation. Festive mood. Ski resort. Tatras. The most picturesque view from the confluence of winter and summer - snow-capped mountains and bright, seemingly warm sun. Everything around sparkles like a New Year, inviting you to plunge into this unforgettable atmosphere with your head.
Languishing with anticipation, you try to quickly leave the gloomy and dark room of your hotel, striving for fresh air, under the caressing rays of the sun standing high at the zenith. Quickly pulling on your ski suit, grabbing your skis, you finally run outside, joyfully rushing to the nearest ski run. You eagerly look around the surroundings, enjoying the bizarre landscape, from an excess of feelings, tears well up in your eyes, which you immediately brush off with a glove on your hand. And now you are already climbing the mountain, here you are standing at the top, fascinated by the landscape that has opened up for many kilometers.
But suddenly there is some discomfort in the eyes, different levels of the surface becomes difficult to distinguish. There is a feeling as if a lot of small grains of sand got into the eyes. Wondering where the sand came from in the snow, you blink frequently, hoping to wash it away with tears flowing from your eyes, and the feeling of sand is also joined by pains that are getting stronger every minute.
You return to the medical center of your hotel to find out that the holiday has been ruined for several days. Because after a while inflammation of the eyes and swelling of the eyelids join the discomfort and pain, the person really goes blind. Snow blindness occurs.
And it still happens. Taught by "experienced comrades", mindful of the danger of bright snow, you boldly put on "sunglasses" that have been tested many times in warm resorts. And go to the mountains, without fear looking at the surrounding landscape. Only after a while does discomfort reappear, a feeling of sand in the eyes, and then pain. Need I say that after a few hours snow blindness also occurs? Why is this happening?
Let's first understand what this phenomenon is. Why did it get its name snow blindness? And why doesn’t it arise at our house, when we admire the fallen snow for almost a day, but can arise in just a couple of minutes spent in the sunny and snowy mountains?
In such mountains, especially in the pre-spring and spring period, the activity of the Sun is especially high. At an altitude of 3000 meters or more, the atmosphere is quite thin, letting in a lot of ultraviolet rays coming from the sun. Snow, as you know, very well reflects the light falling on it. Remember snowy nights in your city. At this time of the year, it's much brighter outside at night than in summer, isn't it? Snow reflects moonlight, additionally illuminating everything around. The same thing happens in winter in sunny mountains, only up to 40% of sunlight is already reflected, including ultraviolet radiation. This phenomenon is more typical for the southern mountainous regions, but in spring it can also occur in the north.
As a result, the reflected beams fall into wide-open curious eyes, causing retinal burns. What is manifested first by discomfort, and after a few hours by the development of photophobia or even complete blindness (snowy ophthalmia). There are known cases of the occurrence of weak forms of blindness under the action of sunlight reflected from the water surface.
It should be noted that in such mountains one must remain vigilant even on cloudy days, when the sun does not seem to be particularly bright. It is believed that on such days the risk of developing snow blindness is even higher than on sunny days. The fact is that on a cloudy day, due to scattered light, everything around becomes equally white: the sky, and snow, and ice. Hillocks and snow ledges, even large ones, do not cast shadows and become indistinguishable. Concernedly looking at the road, you have to strain your eyesight to the limit. Thus, the pupils dilate, and the eye loses its natural protective mechanism, which, in bright light, limits the reflected sunlight from entering it. retinal burn occurs snow blindness.
Even experienced skiers can become a victim of this disease, since blindness does not develop immediately, but within 4-5 hours after exposure to light (although the exposure itself can be several minutes). As a result, there may be such a picture - I was walking on a snowfield, my eyes were a little blind, but it was tolerable, and in the evening problems appeared ...
How does this disease manifest itself? How dangerous is she? As mentioned above, with snow blindness (snow ophthalmia), first there is discomfort in the eyes, a feeling of sand getting in, and lacrimation. Over time, there is pain in the eyes, redness of the mucous membrane, swelling. Photophobia develops - intolerance at first bright, and then any, even relatively weak, light. After 4-5 hours, complete loss of vision may develop.
What to do if trouble overtook you or your friends? First of all, there is no need to panic. It should be noted that this phenomenon is reversible, and after a few days, as a rule, vision is completely restored without any consequences. The victim needs to close his eyes from the light (put on a mask or bandage) and escort him to a dark room, where to provide first aid, and also call a doctor.
Than only earlier folk craftsmen did not treat snow blindness! They used compresses, alcohol tincture of opium, even snuff! As a first aid for snow blindness, it is recommended to first rinse the eyes with a weak solution of boric acid (Boric acid, acidum boricum), soda, a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) or strong cold tea. Then a dark bandage or dark glasses is put on the eyes. Periodically, cold lotions are placed on the eyes to reduce pain.
Specialists prescribe disinfectants, sulfa drugs for the treatment of snowy ophthalmia. But the main thing is to isolate the eyes from sunlight. The victim needs to ensure peace, place him in a darkened room. Often, when it is impossible to use medications, wearing a dark bandage is the only measure for this disease. As a rule, after 1-2 days the symptoms subside, and after 4-5 days the disease completely disappears. As mentioned above, vision is usually fully restored. However, hypersensitivity to bright light often remains.
As you can see, the disease is quite unpleasant, it lasts more than one day, and therefore it can ruin your entire vacation. Therefore, going to such sunny mountains, one should not forget about the methods of preventing snow blindness. He who is forewarned is forearmed, right?
So, we will arm ourselves with glasses. Moreover, not dear to our hearts "multi-colored" sunglasses carrying with them the memory of pleasant days spent at warm seaside resorts. Because many of these glasses protect from light, but do not protect against ultraviolet radiation, which freely penetrates through the glasses. Cheap plastic glasses can even cause retinal burns - after all, the pupil dilates in the dark. As a result, the penetrating ultraviolet freely enters the retina of the eye, causing a burn. Therefore, it is important that both the certificate and the glasses themselves carry the CE mark, which guarantees the eyes protection from ultraviolet radiation.
If you don't have glasses, or you lost them, broke them, or you just don't like them, you can make substitutes from pieces of wood, cardboard, strips of dark fabric with pinholes, or narrow eye slits. You can also blacken the skin around the eyes with soot, if you are not afraid to scare others with such war paint.
At the same time, it must be remembered that glasses or their substitutes must be worn not only in bright, but also in cloudy weather, since in both cases there is a danger of snow blindness.
But what glasses should be used when choosing filter glasses? Expert opinions differ here. Perhaps this is due to the extent to which glasses of one color or another made it possible to work, move around, and conduct observations. Those. a lot depends on individual preferences. Most Arctic and Antarctic explorers prefer smoky goggles. Smoky glasses have a significant advantage: by reducing the brightness of the lighting, they do not change the perception of surrounding objects.
Now, we hope, when going to the Tatras or other sunny mountains, you will look like real experienced skiers, having acquired everything necessary for this pleasure, including well-chosen glasses-light filters.
What is really dangerous snow and ice on the roof, How do you remove icicles from a roof? And having collected all the information on snow topics from our website, you will receive the most complete instructions for snow removal. But, the company "CADET-SPb", first of all, offers quality services, one of which is roof snow removal- you can find out the price from our managers by numbers on the site!
Few people think about why they need to remove snow from the roof of the house at all - let it lie, to whom it interferes. But, in fact, this pile of snow is extremely dangerous for each of us. We already wrote that the weight of 1 square meter of snow crust can reach two hundred kilograms or more, imagine the consequences of such a mass falling onto your car, for example. In more detail about what consequences can be from snow or ice on the roof - later in the article.
What is dangerous snow on the roof
Since cases when people or property suffer from falling snow are quite rare, let's take a better look at the widespread problem - damage to the roofing surface from snow. As it was written above, the snow cap that covers all the roofs of Russian houses in winter has an impressive weight. The consequence of which are problems that can only be noticed in the spring or during snowmelt - the roof is leaking.
No wonder all experts recommend technical inspections roofs before winter and immediately after the snow melts. In the first case, this will allow patching up small gaps “in the defense” from outside influences on the spot. In the second case, it will immediately show where and how the roof was damaged in winter period. We will consider this an additional argument in favor of the assertion that winter is a real test for the roof.
Also, the more snow falls, the more it compacts under its own weight. Therefore, for a person ignorant of roofing matters, it may seem that everything is still in order and the roof will withstand the pressure of snow. It is not always so.
But, do not rush to climb onto the roof yourself and try to remove the snow there. You should do this on your own only on roofs specially equipped for this - flat roofs with special extensions for dumping snow, one-story buildings with a simple pitched roof of a small slope. In any other case, call and wait for the arrival of a specialist.
What danger is fraught with frost on the roof
It is not uncommon for icicles or frost (ice crust on the roofing surface) to form constantly and the weather has nothing to do with it - the problem is improper thermal insulation of the roof. When there are problems with the insulation (it gets wet, its thickness is insufficient, the installation was done illiterately) or it is not there, the roof surface begins to heat up from the internal heat of the building. As a result, the temperature difference between environment and roof. Because of this, the snow melts - ice crust and icicles are formed.
As for icicles, no special knowledge is required to be aware of their danger - a hard and heavy pile of ice with a pointed end is not the best housemate, you must agree. A ice crust is dangerous the fact that snow will begin to accumulate on it again, which will no longer confidently hold on to the roofing material. As a result, uncontrolled falls of a huge mass of snow occur on such a crust. As you understand, this is even more dangerous than the fall of an icicle.
These falls will be followed disruption of almost all external communications of the roof, such as antennas, gutter system, snow guards and so on. All this dead weight will rush to the ground along with the snow and will come out to the owners of the house or its residents "for a pretty penny." To avoid such consequences, it is always necessary to order the cleaning of the roof from snow and ice on time. And the problem with the thermal insulation of the roof should be solved even before the onset of winter cold.
What to do with snow on the roof
The overall picture is very bad: both snow and ice have an extremely negative effect on both the roof (roofing surface and roof structure) and the safety of others. On this moment there are only two ways to deal with this problem - snow removal in one way or another, or roof heating installation which simply will not allow snow to accumulate on the roof.
But, the second option is considered very expensive. What does it cost to buy everything necessary equipment, add to this the difficult installation from specialists, and a tidy sum comes out. Moreover, the snowmelt cable system will constantly consume a lot of electricity, which will also hit the owners pocket.
That's why, in the best possible way take care of your roof, there will be a timely cleaning of the roof from snow and icicles. This will extend the life of your roof for years. It's inexpensive compared to roof heating, and you'll get the help you need almost immediately.
When it comes to winter, we immediately think of snow fun and skiing, completely forgetting about the other side of the coin, far from being as fun as our gardens feel under the cover of snow. Let's talk about how to protect perennials from the harmful effects of snow and frost.
Of course, under a snow blanket, the beds feel quite good. But only if the snow is fluffy and soft. If it becomes caked or covered with an ice crust, the consequences can be very unpleasant, since such a cover ceases to let air through, and the plants under it suffocate or freeze very quickly.
No less dangerous is the abundance of heavy wet snow. It accumulates on tree branches, and with the advent of thaws, it becomes covered with a thick ice crust, which can easily break off branches.
In addition, the accumulation of snow can bring down the roofs of buildings on your site, cut off a drain, or even break an electrical cable. Therefore, large deposits of snow should be disposed of as far as possible.
How to protect
With the onset of the first cold weather, do not panic. The fact is that even the most heat-loving plants calmly withstand a slight decrease in temperature - up to -7 degrees. In addition, the root system of plants suffers only when the ground freezes to a depth of more than 5 cm. It is this situation (frosts below -7 degrees and deep freezing of the soil) that is an indication for covering plants. If you do this earlier, your plantings will not suffer from cold, but from overheating.
First of all, young seedlings should be covered - they are the most susceptible to low temperatures.
The best shelter option is spruce branches - it not only protects from frost, but also retains snow. If a trip to the nearest forest plantation for necessary material impossible, as an alternative, you can use the remains of collected perennials, sawdust, peat and even burlap. The only thing you should not use is dry hay or straw: rodents often start up in them.
Video "How to cover plants for the winter"
In this video, an expert will tell and show you how to properly cover plants for the winter.
What to do when icing
But the main danger to plants is not the frost itself or snow. Most of all, they suffer from small ice crystals that form in tissues during freezing. If the temperature drops slowly, and then just as slowly rises - garden crops, as a rule, easily tolerate such situations, and are easily restored.
If the cold comes abruptly, the consequences can be irreparable.
The farmer should follow the meteorological forecasts and organize protective shelters for his plantations in time to prevent them from icing.
It is important to keep the snow in the beds as much as possible - it is he who plays the role of a kind of insulator that prevents the cold from reaching the root system or tender young shoots.
Snow brings summer residents not only harm, but also benefit. But icing is undesirable for the garden. In this article we will talk about how to protect plants from bad weather in winter months.
Snow cover is a thermal insulation material High Quality, because a special internal climate is created in its thickness. Even if the thermometer has dropped very low, the plant will be much warmer under the snow. A cover half a meter thick will keep the soil from freezing.
The more snow in the garden, the easier it is for berries, fruit crops, perennials and other ornamental plants to survive the harsh winter. Also, the snow "blanket" protects the vegetation from the burning rays of the sun. On the one hand, light and heat are good, but on the other hand, their combination with wind and hard frost can damage green spaces.
The positive effect of snow lies in the fact that during the spring thaw it will water the earth with moisture. Of course, this does not apply to the lowlands. In such places, stagnant moisture leads to decay of the root system and seeds. In this case, it is necessary to resort to geoplastics - I level the territory.
If the winter is not very snowy, then gardeners even specially collect snow from playgrounds and paths, and then insulate flower beds, near-trunk circles of fruit trees and shrubs with them.
On the white snow cover, traces of various pests that penetrate the garden or vegetable garden are clearly visible. Thus, the owner can always find out who enters the territory in his absence.
Now let's talk a little about negative factors. If the snow is very wet, and there is too much of it, it can break off tree branches. Numerous snowflakes bring particular harm to coniferous plants with a columnar crown shape. If the trees are not tied with a rope for the winter, by spring they will become completely unsightly.
Soft and fluffy snow can do little harm, and when it melts and freezes again, it forms an ice crust, under which plants do not breathe. In addition, the weight of such an ice cover increases significantly, it literally tightly fetters the branch, which soon breaks off. A lot of harm brings and walking wet snow at sub-zero temperatures.
Huge layers of snow harm not only green spaces, they can also damage the electric cable in the country. A snowfall from the roof is very dangerous for a person passing by, and can also disrupt the drainage system. To avoid these unpleasant consequences, you can purchase special snow retainers. The design is inexpensive and very easy to install.
Video "Sheltering plants for the winter"
Video about myths, mistakes and misconceptions when sheltering plants for the winter.
How to protect a plant
If frosts have come, and the snow has not yet fallen, then you need to take care of how to protect the plant. Professionals advise starting work on winter shelter when the thermometer drops below zero mark, and the soil will freeze by 5 cm. If you do warming earlier, you can destroy the plants. This time they may die from overheating. When arranging a shelter, you should think about everything and build it in such a way that it shelters not only from frost, but also delays a large number of snow.
You need to start with the “young growth”, since it has a very weak root system, so even if you have a winter-hardy variety in front of you, it can suffer greatly from low temperatures. If the plants grow in clay soil, then they need more time to recover in the spring, as this type of soil contains a large amount of water. With the onset of cold weather, it simply freezes. In the spring, such plants are rehabilitated for a long time. Be sure to need shelter for the winter apple tree, garden strawberries, many varieties of grapes.
How to save a garden from icing
Spruce branches are very well suited for protection from frost and snow, you can pick it up in the forest. Plants are covered with them, a layer of foliage is thrown on top, which is more than enough in autumn. Fallen oak leaves are great, as they practically do not rot. The result is a kind of layer cake that can hold the snow and shelter from the wind.
You can also use sawdust, peat, cover plants and burlap. But straw and hay are not suitable, as they are an excellent refuge for rodents.
The worst thing for plants is not frost, but ice. Since plants are made of water, ice crystals form when they freeze. But if cooling occurs slowly and gradually, then in reverse order thawing occurs. Therefore, green space can survive very low temperatures.
A well-known experiment, which was carried out in the days of the USSR. Biologists were able to freeze a branch of currant to -25 ° C. It is interesting that the branch then not only came to life and recovered, it also brought excellent fruits.
A typical picture for any snowfall: cars push through freshly fallen sediment, scattering clods with their wheels. It sticks to bumpers, sills and, especially intensively, in wheel arches. At first glance, everything is in order - the main thing is to keep your distance, not to scorch and everything will be fine. However, it is on such days that a serious danger awaits the car owner from a completely different side. The snow stuck in the wheel arches is far from being as harmless as it seems. As long as the car is in motion in city traffic - there are no problems. , even stuffed to capacity in the wheel arch, remains quite loose and any movement of the wheels when turning (for example, on a perpendicular street) brings down the accumulated snow mass, cutting it off like a cutter.
When driving for a long time on the highway, the situation may change. in the arch, without being disturbed for a long time, it manages to condense and cake. And if on the route there were sections sprinkled with anti-icing reagents, then the mass in the wheel arches is also saturated with melt moisture. After some time, it freezes in the cold into a monolithic piece of ice, practically “embracing” the wheel with a minimum clearance. A similar picture can be observed when a car with strategic reserves of snow in the wings for the night. Before morning, the snow also has time to turn into ice.
Now, there's no point in joking around with him. Firstly, ice can “grab” suspension units or brake system. In this case, attempts to turn the steering wheel can end sadly, for example, for rubber anthers. Without knowing this, you can “arrive” for suspension repair in a fairly short time. About the case when calipers and pads are covered with frozen water, you can not mention. The first attempt to brake can lead to an accident. But even if important knots and the mechanisms are free of ice, it's too early to rejoice. Nobody canceled the danger from the presence of a block of ice between the wheel and the fender liner! When starting off, the wheel can poke it in whole or in part from the “familiar place”. At the same time, most likely, its fragments will stand up “at odds” between the tire and the fender liner. The force developed by the wheel of the car will crush the ice, and maybe even the metal of the wing underneath.
For this reason plastic fender liner may partially or even completely come off and fly out onto the road, or get stuck in the suspension arms and damage some boot. Bearing in mind the possibility of such consequences, it makes sense to monitor what is happening in the wheel arches of your car. Especially in the snow. To avoid the above problems, it is enough to control the wheel arches visually at each for a long time. Having found the accumulated snow, you can take, for example, a snow brush and try to destroy the “snowdrift” with its handle and pick out its pieces out.
