Ice Storm — Montgomery, Ohio

2011-02-01 to 2011-02-02 · Montgomery, Ohio

Event narrative

Eight tenths of an inch of ice was reported in Union. Six tenths was measured in Dayton. A half inch was reported 2 miles northeast of Dayton, in Centerville, and in Vandalia. An Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper and his wife were killed when they ran a generator in their garage and were overcome by CO poisoning.

Wider weather episode

An ice storm hit the Ohio Valley, beginning late in the evening of January 31st. Low pressure traced from Texas to the lower Great Lakes region, and strengthened as it crossed the Ohio Valley. The precipitation over northern portions of the region began as a snow and sleet mix and changed over to freezing rain, while along and immediately south of the I-70 corridor was all freezing rain. An estimated quarter million power outages were blamed on the storm which brought upwards of a half inch to inch of ice, along with several inches of sleet accumulation to central and west central Ohio and the Whitewater Valley of Indiana.

Warmer temperatures southeast of the I-71 corridor led to little if any freezing precipitation. Overnight, ice melted east of I-75 as temperatures in the warm sector ahead of the cold front rose well into the 40s and reached 50 degrees in some locations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 287527. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.