EXPLAINER: What is freezing rain?

We finally had a weekend without rain, but how long will this last? Jack Wu with the 22 news storm team takes a look at how rain this year can pose a danger. Now we've gone a little bit without some rain, but we are expecting some coming up next week, but with freezing overnight temperatures it could be a little worse than rain. But first we gotta go over precipitation types. So what does that mean exactly? Just means what types of rain or things from the sky that we're going to be seeing when we have warmer air and warmer temperatures outside like this summer. We often got rain. We were never dealing with any sleet or freezing rain or snow. For that matter, but those are a factor when the air is less than 32 degrees outside. So if we do have those freezing overnight temperatures or like this evening when we're seeing temperatures well into the low 20s if it were raining tonight that could be a problem. So we have to take a look at the dangers of freezing rain and sleet, and that is obviously a factor when it's this cold outside. Black ice is a factor when you're on the road, so there are a couple tips for when you do get caught in this, because it's obviously hard to see. Given the road, keep the steering wheel straight. If you're moving it everywhere, that's not going to help. You have no traction. Second, do not break. You want to be able to control your car, and if you break, you're not giving yourself any momentum and take your foot off the accelerator. To slow down, try and come to a gradual stop. Don't go into a full stop right away, because then you're going to completely lose traction. But taking a look at the next 6 to 10 days, this is where we can see wetter conditions around the country. We can see where I'm from Arizona, a lot wetter than usual, which usually doesn't mean much. Usually it means it rains at all, but we take a look in the Northeast. That's where it's really going to be a factor in these next 6 to 10 days. We're going to see a lot wetter conditions combined with those freezing overnight temperatures. That could be a result, or freezing rain and sleet could be a result of that. Working for you, I'm Jack Wu with the 22 News Storm Team.