Ice Storm in Alabama, December 23 to 24, 1998

A winter storm brought a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and rain to the northern half of Alabama. The precipitation began in the morning of the 23rd and lasted until afternoon on the 24th . The temperatures during this event hovered around the freezing mark and remained slightly above freezing long enough for most of the precipitation to fall as rain. Liquid equivalent precipitation measured one to three inches throughout the entire event. Ice accumulations up to one quarter inch occurred briefly during the overnight and early morning hours. These accumulations were generally confined to tree tops, bridges, other elevated surfaces, and higher elevations. Northern Jefferson and Western Etowah counties both reported some trees down along with many branches. Northern Jefferson county also experienced downed power lines that caused sporadic power outages. Road closures were temporary during the morning hours of the 23rd including portions of Interstate 65 and 20/59 in Birmingham.