Ice Storm
NOAA Storm Events type · 12,673 records since 1996 · 49 states and territories
The National Weather Service defines ice storm as: "Ice accretion meeting or exceeding locally/regionally defined warning criteria (typical value is 1/4 or 1/2 inch or more)." NOAA's Storm Events Database holds 12,673 ice storm records from 1996 through June 30, 2026, the most in Iowa (957), with 199 deaths recorded.
How the National Weather Service files ice storm
Ice accretion meeting or exceeding locally/regionally defined warning criteria (typical value is 1/4 or 1/2 inch or more). If the event that occurred is considered significant, even though it affected a small area, it should be entered into Storm Data.
National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605, Storm Data Preparation (July 26, 2021), Appendix A, entry 26
Source: National Weather Service Instruction 10-1605. Read the instruction (PDF).
Ice Storm, 1996 to 2026
Records per year (2026 to June 30, 2026).
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $10 million
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- $10 billion or more, or 1,000 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 12,6731996 to June 30, 2026
- Deaths
- 1991,891 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $5.8Bas filed (scale steps before 1993)
- Counties with a record
- 2,569of 3,266
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026. Search the record at NCEI.
Where do ice storm records happen?
States
Counties
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database (forecast-zone records count on every county the zone covers).
When do ice storm records happen?
63% of its ice storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is January.
The values, month by month
Jan 4,423 · Feb 2,832 · Mar 636 · Apr 321 · May 5 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 1 · Oct 99 · Nov 844 · Dec 3,512 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began.
The deadliest ice storm records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007-12-09 | Ice StormOklahoma County, OK · forecast zone Oklahoma In addition to the above mentioned damage, all but the gym burned at Jones High School. Seven deaths were reported across the county due to the ice storm. The total estimated monetary damage listed is for the entire event that occurred in the National Weather Service County Warning Area. | 7 | 0 | $213M | |
| 1998-12-22 | Ice StormMcLennan County, TX · forecast zone McLennan A strong arctic cold front moved through North Texas on the 21st, bringing freezing temperatures to all of North Texas by the morning of the 22nd. Southwest winds aloft produced overrunning conditions, resulting in cloudy skies and a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow. The precipitation began in the western ... | 6 | 0 | – | |
| 2006-12-29 | Ice StormRandall County, TX · forecast zone Randall Thirty-eight hundreds of an inch of ice from freezing rain and freezing drizzle was measured seven miles west southwest of Amarillo on tree limbs. | 5 | 5 | $100K | |
| 1999-03-18 | Ice StormHoonah-Angoon Census Area and Sitka City and Borough, AK · forecast zone Pribilof Islands An extremely intense storm moved up toward the extreme Western Aleutians late Tuesday continuing to just south of Adak as a 946mb center 9pm Wednesday. The low began an eastward turn while starting to very slowly weaken during the next 24 hours...moving to 180 miles south of Cold Bay as a 959mb center at 9 pm ... | 5 | 0 | – | |
| 2024-01-16 | Ice StormClackamas County and 2 more, OR · forecast zone Greater Portland Metro Area About one-half of an inch of ice accumulation was inferred from the Portland ASOS, and across the Greater Portland Metro Area from the 16th to 17th. This resulted in travel disruptions, slip and fall injuries, and power outages. In addition to the ice, persistent freezing temperatures over several days led to ... | 4 | 0 | – | |
| 2009-01-26 | Ice StormWebster County, KY · forecast zone Webster This historic, prolonged ice storm was called the biggest disaster in modern Kentucky history by the governor of Kentucky. The storm produced at least one inch of ice across western Kentucky. Locally very destructive icing around 1.5 inches occurred from the Mississippi River counties east across Paducah and ... | 4 | 0 | $15M | |
| 2001-02-27 | Ice StormOsage County, KS · forecast zone Osage Slick roads caused by freezing rain resulted in a 2 vehicle collision that killed 3 people near Vassar. | 3 | 2 | – | |
| 1996-01-10 | Ice StormCodington County, SD · forecast zone Codington A narrow band of freezing rain caused major disruption to traffic just after the beginning of rush hour, especially in the cities of Sioux Falls and Watertown. Over one hundred accidents occurred, including a collision near Watertown which caused 3 fatalities. The ice accumulation was not enough to cause significant ... | 3 | 1 | $188K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, deaths direct and indirect as filed.
The most recent ice storm records
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-04 | Ice StormIron County, WI · forecast zone Iron | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormIron County, MI · forecast zone Iron | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormGogebic County, MI · forecast zone Gogebic | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormDickinson County, MI · forecast zone Dickinson | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormMarquette County, MI · forecast zone Marquette | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormSawyer County, WI · forecast zone Sawyer | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormWashburn County, WI · forecast zone Washburn | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-04-03 | Ice StormBurnett County, WI · forecast zone Burnett | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.