Ice Storm — Red River, Texas

2000-12-12 to 2000-12-13 · Red River, Texas

Event narrative

An artic airmass spilled southward out of the central plains and into the lower Mississippi Valley. This cold surface airmass was overrun by a warm and humid airmass which combined with a strong upper level storm system across west Texas. The result was a mixture of freezing rain, sleet and snow north of a Quitman to Linden Texas line, while further south, precipitation was in the form of freezing rain. Ice accumulations of two to 6 inches were common across the northern third of northeast Texas with accumulations on one to two inches further south. Over 235,000 people were without power from several hours to several weeks from snapped power lines. Upwards of 29 transmission lines atop "H" shaped steel towers were snapped due to the weight of the ice. Numerous traffic accidents were reported from ice covered roads and bridges. Northeast Texas was declared a disaster area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5177490. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.