Ice Storm, Choctaw
- When
- December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Choctaw forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 34.027, -95.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm in Oklahoma, December 23, 1998
Summary of events for December 23 1998:A series of upper level disturbances moving across a shallow arctic air mass caused freezing rain to break out across far southern Oklahoma on the day before Christmas Eve. While the worst of the ice storm was further south in north Texas, the freezing rain and ice was enough to cripple travel in far southern Oklahoma at one of the busiest travel times of…
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
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 TSA wrote it up.
Summary of events for December 23 1998:A series of upper level disturbances moving across a shallow arctic air mass caused freezing rain to break out across far southern Oklahoma on the day before Christmas Eve. While the worst of the ice storm was further south in north Texas, the freezing rain and ice was enough to cripple travel in far southern Oklahoma at one of the busiest travel times of the year. Fortunately, the ice was not thick enough in southeast Oklahoma to cause significant power outages or tree damage.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Ice Storm, Pushmataha
- When
- December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Pushmataha forecast zone
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 34.416, -95.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Pittsburg
- When
- December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Pittsburg forecast zone
- Reported by
- OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY
- Coordinates
- 34.924, -95.748 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Ice Storm, Le Flore
- When
- December 23, 12:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Le Flore forecast zone
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
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
- Ice Storm in Alabama, December 23 to 25, 1998
- Winter Storm in Tennessee, December 23 to 24, 1998
- Ice Storm in Virginia, December 23 to 25, 1998
- Cold in Arkansas, December 23, 1998
- Ice Storm in Maryland, December 23 to 25, 1998
- Ice Storm in North Carolina, December 23 to 25, 1998
- Ice Storm in Alabama, December 23 to 24, 1998
- Winter Storm in Texas, December 23, 1998
- Ice Storm in North Carolina, December 23 to 25, 1998
- Ice Storm in Virginia, December 23 to 24, 1998
- Ice Storm in Oklahoma, December 23 to 24, 1998
- Winter Storm in Kentucky, December 23 to 24, 1998
More
Every storm in Oklahoma in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, December 1998
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: 5676446, 5676447, 5676448, 5676449.