Freezing road warning came too late for Northeast drivers

A warning from the National Weather Service came too late for drivers in the northeast on Sunday as more than 700 accidents were reported in due to freezing road conditions, including nine fatalities.

Black ice, also called "flash freezing," which is caused when precipitation instantly turns to ice when it hits paved road, caused crashes of cars and trucks from Maryland to New Hampshire and closed roads and bridges in places like Pennsylvania and Delaware.

Today, some are asking why it seemed to catch state and local road crews by surprise.

"We were under the impression that there maybe potential for some mix precipitation at the onset," said Gene Blaum with the Pennsylvania Department of Trasportation. "I don't think anyone expected that we were going to have massive frozen roadways that we did have here in the region and other areas in the mid Atlantic states and New England. "

The NWS warning about the freezing roads did come at 6:58 Sunday morning, but not in time for many motorists.

"We do try to get several hours of lead time," said Sarah Johnson with the National Weather Service. "Unfortunately with the event yesterday it didn't unfold the way we had expected."