Ice Storm in Oklahoma, November 24, 1996

Name: Ice Storm in Oklahoma, November 24, 1996
Start: 1996-11-24T06:00
End: 1996-11-24T19:30
Location: Oklahoma

November 24, 1996 · NWS OUN · 23 events in 23 counties and zones

A strong arctic cold front moved through Oklahoma on Sunday November 24th. Temperatures that had been in the 60s and 70s on Saturday fell into the 20s by Sunday evening.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 23 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 23

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS OUN wrote it up.

A strong arctic cold front moved through Oklahoma on Sunday November 24th. Temperatures that had been in the 60s and 70s on Saturday fell into the 20s by Sunday evening. Precipitation began as rain early Sunday morning then changed to sleet then freezing rain then finally to snow as the temperatures plummeted and the cold air pushed farther south. Ice accumulated up to 1/2 inch thick mainly southeast of a line from Shawnee to Chickasha to Frederick, with ice up to 1 inch thick from Holdenville to Ada to Ardmore and southeastward. Damage across southeastern and southcentral Oklahoma was severe. Power was out to a large portion of the area due to icing of power lines and tree limbs. Electric companies throughout southcentral and southeastern Oklahoma estimated that over 152,000 people were without power at some time during the storm. It took as long as 3 days to restore power to some customers. Bryan County was particularly hard-hit by ice up to 1 inch thick. Telephone and power services were out almost countywide, including in Durant, Calera, Colbert, Cartwright, Caddo, and Bokchito. Officials in Durant reported that trees and limbs were down on every block in town. An old peanut dryer building collapsed in Bokchito due to the weight of the ice. A radio station was forced off the air when its transmitter was covered with 2 to 3 inches of ice. A second 500-foot radio tower fell near Lake Texoma due to the weight of the accumulated ice. Carter County reported similar troubles, with power outages and numerous limbs and trees down in Ardmore, Lone Grove, Oilpatch, Ringling, Fox, Healdton, and Wilson. In Pushmataha County, a 190-foot microwave tower used by OETA to transmit public television collapsed due to the weight of ice. The tower, which was located in a wooded area between Tuskahoma and Clayton, was completely destroyed. Trees, limbs, and power poles were broken by the weight of the ice throughout southeastern and southcentral Oklahoma. Jefferson County reported 6 power poles broken west of Ringling and over 100 poles fell in Stephens and Cotton Counties east and south of Comanche and northeast and southeast of Marlow.Officials in Pontotoc County reported 20 poles and numerous trees and limbs down around the county with the worst damage in Fitzhugh. Seminole County also suffered broken poles, crossarms, trees, and limbs.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

23 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Grady

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Grady forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.017, -97.884 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, McClain

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: McClain forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.009, -97.444 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Cleveland

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Cleveland forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.203, -97.326 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Pottawatomie

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Pottawatomie forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.207, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Seminole

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Seminole forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.168, -96.615 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Hughes

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Hughes forecast zone
Coordinates: 35.048, -96.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Tillman

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Tillman forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.373, -98.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Comanche

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Comanche forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.662, -98.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Stephens

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Stephens forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.486, -97.851 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Garvin

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Garvin forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.705, -97.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Murray

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Murray forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.482, -97.068 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Pontotoc

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Pontotoc forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.728, -96.684 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Coal

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Coal forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.588, -96.298 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Cotton

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Cotton forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.290, -98.372 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Jefferson

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.111, -97.836 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Carter

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Carter forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.251, -97.286 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Johnston

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Johnston forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.317, -96.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Atoka

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Atoka forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.374, -96.038 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Pushmataha

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Pushmataha forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.416, -95.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Love

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Love forecast zone
Coordinates: 33.950, -97.244 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Marshall

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Marshall forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.025, -96.769 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Bryan

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Bryan forecast zone
Coordinates: 33.962, -96.260 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Choctaw

When: November 24, 6:00 AM CST to 7:30 PM CST
Where: Choctaw forecast zone
Coordinates: 34.027, -95.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Oklahoma in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in Oklahoma, November 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5578183, 5578184, 5578185, 5578186, 5578187, 5578188, 5578189, 5578190, 5578191, 5578192, 5578193, 5578194, 5578195, 5578196, 5578197, 5578198, 5578199, 5578200, 5578201, 5578202, 5578203, 5578204, 5578205.