at 4:16 PM by Pierce Larkin

Major Ice Storm impacts Central US

On Friday, contributor Evan Hatter told you about how the central US was bracing for an ice storm. Preparations had already begun on Thursday even, and by Friday many governors had issued states of emergency. This was a big deal in many areas, as ice is one of the most dangerous forms of precipitation. It causes plenty of traffic accidents, and can cause major damage to key infrastructure (powerlines, homes, etc).

This ice storm lived up to the threat, especially in areas of Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. Some of these regions saw major accumulations of freezing rain. This led to power outages, and significant tree damage across the regions that were impacted significantly.

The set up was classic, and matched up with climatology for these events very well. There was a deep mid and upper level low pressure centered just off shore of southern California, with southwesterly flow centered across the central US.

A jet streak was centered to the north of the region, placing the area in the favorable right entrance region of upper level jet. This initiated southerly flow in the lower levels of the atmosphere, providing significant moisture that pooled into the region. This southerly flow created significant warm air advection into the region, pushing the freezing line at 850 mb well into northern Kansas.

The 300 mb set up on Friday morning. The southwesterly flow in the upper levels of the atmosphere helped to set the stage for a big event. h/t SPC
The 300 mb set up on Saturday morning. The southwesterly flow in the upper levels of the atmosphere helped to set the stage for a big event. h/t SPC
The 500 mb set up on Saturday morning. The southwesterly flow in the mid levels of the atmosphere helped to set the stage for a big event. h/t SPC
The 500 mb set up on Saturday morning. The southwesterly flow in the mid levels of the atmosphere helped to set the stage for a big event. h/t SPC

While this was happening, an arctic cold front was marching southward, producing below freezing surface temperatures. There were times over the weekend where the freezing line at 850 mb was well into Kansas, and even Nebraska, while the surface freezing line was in southern Oklahoma. A warm layer of this magnitude set the stage for some heavy, convective precipitation across much of the affected areas.

The major warm layer was set above a subfreezing surface layer. h/t SPC
The major warm layer was set above a subfreezing surface layer. h/t SPC
The southerly flow helped to set the stage for heavy freezing rain across the central US. h/t SPC
The southerly flow helped to set the stage for heavy freezing rain across the central US. h/t SPC

This set the stage for a significant ice accumulation event across many regions. Some of the amounts and pictures are eye opening.

The storm total ice in central Oklahoma. h/t NWS Norman
The storm total ice in central Oklahoma. h/t NWS Norman

The damage associated with this was significant, and knocked out power to many. Luckily, much of this fell on a weekend, so travel wasn’t as much of a headache as it could have been.

Clean up after these events is always slow, especially when the ice slowly melts. These folks will have plenty to work on cleaning up. Our weather has been gloomy, but luckily, we aren’t having to spend the next few days cleaning up from a major ice storm.