Heat Buckles Highway, SUV Goes Soaring

Grace Muller
By Grace Muller, AccuWeather.com Staff Writer
July 06, 2012; 7:02 PM
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Heat Buckles Highway, SUV Goes Soaring

How does hot weather make the road buckle?

Storified by Accu Weather · Thu, Jul 05 2012 10:19:40

Heat Buckles Highway, SUV Goes SoaringBrightcove
Hot weather in Wisconsin buckled pavement on a highway. Theresa Reich recorded a car hitting the pavement like a ramp and going airborne. Crazy, right? The people in the car weren't seriously injured, thankfully.
Road reopens; Woman talks about capturing video of airborne SUVChippewa County (WQOW) - A highway has been repaired and reopened after a crash and a near miss. The pavement buckled because of the heat...

But, how does heat buckle pavement?

How Do Roads Buckle Under Scorching Heat?Brightcove
Intense heat deforms the surface of the road. Pavement expands in the heat but there is no place for it to expand. The pavement pushes up off the ground at its weak spots. The risk is greatest for roads buckling when the temperature is over 90 to 95 degrees.
This extremely HOT weather brings on new challenges while driving. Please pay attention to the road at all times, you never know when or where the pavement will buckle, causing all kinds of problems for you and your car! Slow down, everyone!Jamie Thomas - American Family Insurance Agent - Schofield, WI
Looks like road buckle has one lane of EB belt line shut down in Middleton http://pic.twitter.com/TZTIlIHKChris Woodard
This how hot it is in Chicago....wow http://pic.twitter.com/rOjeF5HGiknowjustincase
More information about how roads buckle in the heat:
Buckling - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe member is said to have buckled, to have deformed. ..... Radiant heat from the sun is absorbed in the road surface, causing it to ex...
Of course, heat isn't pavement's only nemesis. Flooding and disrepair can also cause roads to buckle.
Hurricane Irene effects - buckled roadRhys Asplundh
Old Route 61P_Linehan

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