How is this parka going to hold up in freezing rain for up to several hours with high winds and temps hovering around freezing?

San. If you are looking for a down parka that is waterproof... look no further than the Down Town Coat from Mountain Hardwear. Although it does not say it on the product page, this urban beast is actually a waterproof, taped, insulated down jacket utilizing Dry Q Core. It will stand up to freezing rain! Here is the link to it on the Backcountry.com site (cut and paste): http://www.backcountry.com/mountain-hardwear-downtown-down-coat-mens And just to clarify, in addition to an industry leading 80 wash DWR, the Chillwave Jacket utilizes AirSheild Core, which is a laminate, for windproof-ness and weather protection, and will keep the majority of the weather off in cold conditions. It is not, waterproof because it is not taped... but, it is extremely weather resistant. I hope this helps!

Hope this helps! The Mountain Hardwear Chillwave Parka is NOT designed for constant exposure to the rain, meaning standing in icy rain for hours. It is water resistant with a DWR (Durable Water Repellant) coating. This helps. However, I suggest a Gore-Tex outer shell on any parka in which you will be dealing with consistent icy rain!