Ice Storm in Texas, January 12 to 14, 1997

Name: Ice Storm in Texas, January 12 to 14, 1997
Start: 1997-01-12T08:00
End: 1997-01-14T09:00
Location: Texas

January 12 to 14, 1997 · NWS LCH · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

A record ice storm paralyzed southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Around 90,000 electric customers across southeast Texas were without power for up to six days.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 20
Property damage: $18 million
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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 LCH wrote it up.

A record ice storm paralyzed southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana. Around 90,000 electric customers across southeast Texas were without power for up to six days. Emergency shelters were opended for several nights due to the cold weather following the ice storm. More trees and power lines were knocked down in this ice storm than what came down during Hurricane Bonnie in 1986. Hundreds of homes received minor damage due to trees or tree limbs falling on roofs. Several house fires were directly or indirectly related to the ice storm, but fortunately there were only no injuries. Numerous traffic accidents attributed to icy roads led to several minor injuries. One death was indirectly attributed to the ice storm. Two men were electrocuted on Tuesday, January 21st, while doing cleanup work for a local electric company. One 48 year old man died, and a 19 year old man was seriously injured in the accident.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Orange

When: January 12, 8:00 AM CST to January 14, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Orange forecast zone
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $7.0 million

Ice Storm, Hardin

When: January 12, 8:00 AM CST to January 14, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Hardin forecast zone
Property damage: $1.0 million
Coordinates: 30.332, -94.390 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Jefferson

When: January 12, 8:00 AM CST to January 14, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Jefferson forecast zone
Injuries: 10 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $10 million

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Ice Storm, Orange	1997-01-21	48	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

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 Texas in 1997 Every state in 1997 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, January 1997

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5589155, 5589156, 5589157.