A significant ice storm is currently ongoing across the Lone Star State. This ice results from freezing rain coming down across parts of the state.

Freezing rain is rain that falls as a liquid, then freezes on contact with surfaces at or below freezing. This results in ice build-up on surfaces such as trees and powerlines.

There has already been a lot of ice buildup already across the state of Texas. This has led to hundreds of thousands of power outages across the state. Even more, ice is expected to accumulate in Texas leading to close to 0.5″ in most locations.

Freezing rain can also build up a layer of ice on bridges and roadways, which creates a glaze of ice. Making for slippery, hazardous travel in impacted areas. In our area, we have seen similar events with ice storms.

Locally, the last time we had a significant freezing rain event in North Alabama was back in 1996. During February 1-2 around one inch of ice accumulated from freezing rain in parts of North Alabama. This ice accumulation resulted in downed trees and multiple power outages.