Black Ice Warning

Notice issued by: National Weather Service, Atlanta - GA, US

...ICY SPOTS AND BLACK ICE EXPECTED TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING...

Is the term "black ice" racist?  Why do they have to call something "black" in order for it to sound scary?  "Black plague."  "Black listed."  "Black ice."  It looks pretty white to me.

TEMPERATURES TONIGHT WILL DROP INTO THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S ACROSS NORTH AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA. THE COLDER TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH MOISTURE LEFT ON SURFACES FROM RECENT PRECIPITATION WILL LEADS TO SLICK OR ICY SPOTS ON ROADS AS WELL AS OTHER SURFACES SUCH AS PORCHES, DECKS, AND SIDEWALKS TUESDAY MORNING.

It's nice to know the government is watching out for our porches and decks.

THE MOST LIKELY LOCATIONS FOR BLACK ICE ON ROADWAYS WILL BE SECONDARY OR UNTREATED ROADS AS WELL AS BRIDGES AND OVERPASSES.

I hate to break it to the National Weather Service, but down here in Georgia, all the roads are "untreated."  

THE THREATS FOR BLACK ICE AND SLICK SPOTS WILL DIMINISH THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS AS TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO WARM THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON TO WELL ABOVE THE FREEZING MARK. USE CAUTION AND ALLOW EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION IF TRAVELING LATE TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING.

In other words, it will be cold and icy in the morning, but will warm up during the day.  Businesses and government offices are already announcing late starts tomorrow morning, and on the plus side, my office won't open until 10:00 a.m. so we get to sleep in a little bit.