January 31 – February 2, 2023 North American ice storm explained
Formed: | January 31, 2023 |
Dissipated: | February 2, 2023 |
Type: | Ice storm |
Pressure: | 1016 |
An ice storm[4] impacted the Southern United States in early 2023, bringing heavy snow and ice across the region. The Weather Channel reported that at least 10 deaths were attributed to the winter storm, which was unofficially named Winter Storm Mara by them.[5]
History
The winter storm started when an Arctic cold passage made its way south into the Southern United States, where it met with warm and moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, creating the ice storm.[6]
On January 31, an inch of sleet fell in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area, with the accompaniment of lightning at times. On the same day, freezing rain also fell in Arkansas, including the Fayetteville and Fort Smith areas, as well as Missouri, where cities such as Joplin and Springfield were impacted. Freezing rain and sleet fell as far south as Austin and San Antonio on January 31.[7] [8]
Preparations
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders stated that she activated winter weather support teams from the Arkansas National Guard.[9] Multiple schools and universities, including Texas State University and St. Edward's University, announced virtual learning and closures.[10] [11] DoorDash suspended operations in central Arkansas on January 31, while USPS also suspended operations in north Texas on that same day.[12] [13] Other companies, including Amazon, FedEx, and UPS were operating under a limited capacity.[14] 60 warming shelters were opened in Texas.[15] The funeral for Tyre Nichols was postponed for four hours.[16] An NBA game between the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards was postponed.[17] At least more than 60 million people from New Mexico to West Virginia were under a winter weather alert.[18] [19]
Impact
Multiple media organizations reported ten deaths that were attributed to the winter storm, including seven in Texas, two in Oklahoma, and one in Arkansas. The National Centers for Environmental Information reported no deaths from this storm system.[20] Numerous interstates, including interstates 10, 30, 35W, and 40 were shut down due to car accidents that were caused by the winter storm.[21] [22] [23] [24] Additionally, at least 100 car accidents were reported as a result.[25] A total of 0.75inches of ice accumulated in Fischer, Texas,[26] while Kingsland, Texas received 0.67inches of freezing rain.[27] Dallas set a daily snowfall record on January 31, at 1.3inches.[28]
In Texas, at least 350,000 people were left without power as a result of the storm due to tree limbs and power lines being brought down to ice. Of those 350,000 people, 160,000 were in Austin.[29] This can be contrasted with Winter Storm Uri, wherein 4.5 million people were left without power due to, among other things, demand exceeding supply. On February 4, Governor Greg Abbott of Texas issued a disaster declaration for a seven county area.[30]
At least 1,600 flights have been canceled, 888 of them in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport,[31] with flights from Delta, United, Southwest, and American airlines being cancelled.[32] [33] At least 530,000 power outages were also reported.[34] As of March 20, 2023, more than 166,000 tons of debris produced by the storm had been collected by the City of Austin.[35]
See also
- February 2023 North American cold wave
Notes and References
- Web site: United States Power Outages . PowerOutages.us . 2 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202192946/https://poweroutage.us/ . 2 February 2023 . dead.
- Web site: Ice Storm Blamed In At Least 10 Deaths; Power Outages Top 500,000 . The Weather Channel . 2 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202192543/https://weather.com/news/news/2023-02-01-winter-storm-mara-ice-storm-live-updates . 2 February 2023 . 2 February 2023 . live.
- https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/stormevents/listevents.jsp?eventType=%28Z%29+Winter+Storm&beginDate_mm=01&beginDate_dd=30&beginDate_yyyy=2023&endDate_mm=02&endDate_dd=02&endDate_yyyy=2023&hailfilter=0.00&tornfilter=0&windfilter=000&sort=DT&submitbutton=Search&statefips=-999%2CALL
- Web site: Here are the latest Key Messages for the ice storm producing significant ice accumulations from the Southern Plains to the Mid-South. Additional power outages, tree damage, & treacherous travel are expected this evening & into Thursday AM. Conditions improve by Thursday PM. . Twitter . Weather Prediction Center . 1 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201234042/https://twitter.com/NWSWPC/status/1620917231835021314 . 1 February 2023 . 1 February 2023 . live.
- Web site: Archived copy . 2023-02-02 . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034723/https://weather.com/news/news/2023-02-01-winter-storm-mara-ice-storm-live-updates . live .
- News: 2023-02-01 . Thousands without power in Texas after ice storm . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-02-02.
- Web site: Ice Storm Spreads From Texas To Arkansas And Tennessee Weather.com . 2023-02-01 . The Weather Channel . en-US . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034731/https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/2023-01-30-winter-storm-mara-ice-snow-south-texas-ohio-valley . live .
- Web site: At least 8 dead as ice storm rages in the South, causing travel chaos and outages . NBC News . 1 February 2023 . 1 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201131820/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/deadly-ice-storm-rages-texas-causing-travel-chaos-outages-rcna68531 . live .
- Web site: Hernandez . Joe . January 31, 2023 . An ice storm is unleashing treacherous conditions across parts of the Southern U.S. . NPR . January 31, 2023 . February 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034726/https://www.npr.org/2023/01/31/1152781168/ice-storm-texas-south-flights-travel . live .
- Web site: January 30, 2023 . LIST: Central Texas schools announce cancellations amid Winter Storm Warning . 2023-01-31 . kvue.com . en-US . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201220730/https://www.kvue.com/article/news/education/schools/school-closures-winter-weather/269-504d8272-deee-4f5b-a4de-46b289497cca . live .
- Web site: 2023-01-30 . Several local districts close, delay classes amid winter storm . 2023-01-31 . KXAN Austin . en-US . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201190739/https://www.kxan.com/news/local/school-delays-closures-in-central-texas-amid-severe-winter-weather/ . live .
- Web site: Crockett . Ashley . 2023-01-31 . AR DoorDash suspends food delivery service after winter storms threaten road safety . 2023-01-31 . KATV . en . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034734/https://gum.criteo.com/syncframe?origin=publishertag&topUrl=katv.com . live .
- Web site: Staff . FOX 4 . 2023-01-31 . Dallas weather: US Postal Service temporarily suspends operations in North Texas . 2023-02-01 . FOX 4 . en-US . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034744/https://www.fox4news.com/news/dallas-weather-us-postal-service-temporarily-suspends-operations-in-north-texas . live .
- Web site: January 31, 2023 . Deliveries during winter storm: Here's how major package services are handling icy conditions in DFW . 2023-01-31 . wfaa.com . en-US . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034730/https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dfw-north-texas-ice-weather-deliveries-winter-storm/287-ed15e228-59b9-48a2-90ba-45be53335571 . live .
- Web site: Musto . Julia . 2023-02-01 . Over 240K without power in Texas after ice storm kills at least 6 . 2023-02-01 . FOXBusiness . en-US . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201175635/https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/customers-without-power-texas-ice-storm . live .
- Web site: 2023-02-01 . Live updates Funeral for Tyre Nichols . 2023-02-01 . AP NEWS . en . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034740/https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-funeral-live-updates-382cf7c8f9cefdbef27a15502cde0550 . live .
- Web site: 2023-02-01 . Wiz-Pistons PPD over ice storm; Pels alter travel . 2023-02-01 . ESPN.com . en . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034734/https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/35571135/wizards-pistons-postponed-travel-issues-ice-storm . live .
- Web site: Dam . Rob Shackelford,Derek Van . 2023-01-30 . More than 40 million people are under winter weather alerts from Texas to West Virginia, with significant icing likely . 2023-02-01 . CNN . en . 2023-01-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230130091804/https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/weather/winter-weather-storm-central-us/index.html . live .
- Web site: Texas ice storm live updates: Over 250,000 customers without power . 2023-02-01 . ABC News . en . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034726/https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-ice-storm/?id=96813963 . live .
- Web site: U.S. States and Areas Storm Event Database: January 31-February 2 . National Centers for Environmental Information . 17 May 2023.
- Web site: Jones . Hannah . Davies • • . Samantha . Crashes, Traffic Issues on Icy Roads Across North Texas Amid Winter Storm . 2023-01-31 . NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth . 31 January 2023 . en-US . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034727/https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/traffic/crashes-traffic-issues-on-icy-roads-across-north-texas-amid-winter-storm/3182373/ . live .
- Web site: Deadly ice storm cripples Texas with worst yet to come for South . 2023-01-31 . news.yahoo.com . en-US . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034731/https://news.yahoo.com/crippling-ice-storm-turns-deadly-145046936.html . live .
- Web site: January 31, 2023 . IH-10 eastbound lane closed after multi-vehicle pileup crash in Jeff Davis County . 2023-01-31 . newswest9.com . en-US . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202034749/https://www.newswest9.com/article/news/local/ih-10-eastbound-lane-closed-after-multi-vehicle-pileup-crash-in-jeff-davis-county/513-10f6dde4-6f5b-4e11-8aa9-a3d1f3978bd1 . live .
- Web site: Ramirez Jr. . Domingo . January 31, 2023 . Don't drive on icy North Texas roads Tuesday, Wednesday; 1 dead in Arlington because of weather . Fort Worth-Star Telegram.
- Web site: Travis . Courtney . January 30, 2023 . AccuWeather meteorologists warn of icy travel, power outages from Texas to Tennessee . AccuWeather.
- News: Ice storm crippling Texas, Mid-South as death toll, power outages climb . en-US . Washington Post . 2023-02-02 . 0190-8286.
- Web site: February 2, 2023 . How the February 2023 winter storm compares to other historical ice events in Central Texas . 2023-02-03 . kvue.com . en-US.
- https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2023/01/ice-thunder-sleet-and-cancellations-as-north-texas-heads-into-day-2-of-winter-weather/ Ice, Thunder Sleet, and Cancellations as North Texas Settles Into Winter Weather
- Web site: Texas winter storm knocks out power for at least 350,000. Paul. Best. February 1, 2023. Fox News.
- Web site: Gov. Greg Abbott issues ice storm disaster declaration for some Texas counties . 4 February 2023 .
- Web site: More than 1,500 flights canceled as fatal ice storm sweeps the South . 2023-02-01 . NBC News . February 2023 . en . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201005038/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nearly-1000-flights-canceled-dangerous-ice-storm-sweeps-southern-us-rcna68321 . live .
- Web site: Ortiz . John Bacon, Marina Pitofsky and Jorge L. . 'It's messy out there': Fierce winter storm cancels flights, makes roads treacherous, leads to one death. Updates. . 2023-01-31 . USA TODAY . en-US . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201162601/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/weather/2023/01/31/winter-weather-forecast-tuesday-ice-storm/11151368002/ . live .
- News: 2023-01-31 . Dangerous ice storm sweeps parts of southern US . en-GB . BBC News . 2023-01-31 . 2023-02-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230201020108/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64408457 . live .
- Web site: United States Power Outages . PowerOutages.us . 2 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202160824/https://poweroutage.us/ . 2 February 2023 . dead.
- Web site: City of Austin collecting second round of storm debris March 31 . 21 March 2023 .