At a Glance
- A four-day ice storm was damaging over parts of the South.
- Roads were impassable, trees damaged and power knocked out in parts of Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee.
- The Austin and Dallas metro areas, as well as parts of Arkansas, were hardest hit.
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An ice storm hammered parts of the South in late January and early February 2023, snarling roads, damaging trees and knocking out power from Texas to Tennessee.
This weather system was named Winter Storm Mara (MARE-uh) by The Weather Channel.
(MORE: How Winter Storms Are Named)
Mara's ice unfolded in multiple rounds beginning on Jan. 30 and ending by midday on Feb. 3.
The map below shows all of the sleet and freezing rain reports along the storm's path, stretching from Texas to the Mississippi and Ohio valleys and the central Appalachians over that four-day period.
The highest ice accumulations occurred near the Austin metro area and west into the Texas Hill Country. Around three-quarter of an inch of ice was measured in Fischer and near Llano, Texas.
A quarter to one-third of an inch of ice, after a round of accumulated sleet, was reported around Dallas-Ft. Worth, making roads ice-packed.
Up to a half inch of ice in Arkansas downed trees and knocked out power, particularly in the southern half of the state.
And in Tennessee, from one-tenth to one-half inch of ice on top of sleet turned streets in Memphis into an ice rink. Accumulations around a tenth of an inch made roads slick and brought down a few trees in the Nashville metro area.
Just over 500,000 customers lost power during the storm, primarily in a strip from central to northeast Texas into southern Arkansas, including the Austin metro area, according to according to poweroutage.us.
Here were some daily highlights of the ice storm.
Monday, Jan. 30
Up to an inch of sleet was reported Monday in parts of eastern Oklahoma, including the Tulsa metro area, accompanied by lightning, at times. About a half inch of sleet was reported in Denton, Texas.
Portions of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex saw a mix of freezing rain and sleet.
Freezing rain was reported in Fayetteville and Fort Smith, Arkansas, as well as Joplin and Springfield, Missouri. Sleet and freezing rain was observed as far south as the Texas Hill Country, including the Austin and San Antonio metros.
Tuesday, Jan. 31
There were multiple reports of serious accidents in the Austin and Dallas-Ft. Worth metro areas because of icy conditions Tuesday. Icing also forced closures on stretches of Interstate 40 and has downed power poles in eastern Arkansas.
Lightning accompanied moderate to heavy bursts of sleet in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Wednesday, Feb. 1
More freezing rain hit the Austin metro area, and sleet and freezing rain returned to the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area, where roads were already icy from earlier rounds of the storm.
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