Oklahoma, 2001

Ice Storm and Winter Storm in Oklahoma, January 28, 2001

January 28, 2001 · NWS OUN · 25 events in 25 counties and zones

A winter storm provided an average of 4 to 7 inches of snow across portions of northwest Oklahoma during the morning and afternoon of the 28th, from near Arnett in Ellis County northeastward to just west of Alva in Woods County. From northern Roger Mills County northeastward through Woodward in Woodward County, up to 4 inches of snow fell.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 25 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
25

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 winter storm provided an average of 4 to 7 inches of snow across portions of northwest Oklahoma during the morning and afternoon of the 28th, from near Arnett in Ellis County northeastward to just west of Alva in Woods County. From northern Roger Mills County northeastward through Woodward in Woodward County, up to 4 inches of snow fell. Between 1/4 and 1 inch of ice with some snow fell from southwest Oklahoma, near Hollis and Mangum, northeastward through Kingfisher, Enid, and Ponca City. Approximately 18,000 people lost power during the storm.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Norman, OK wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 28, 3:15 AM CST, 6 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 28, 3:15 AM CST, 6 hours 45 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORMAN OK
315 AM CST SUN JAN 28 2001

THE TOUGH CALL TODAY WILL BE A STRIP OF COUNTIES FROM NORTH CENTRAL
INTO SOUTHWEST OK WHERE A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY HAS BEEN ISSUED.
TEMPERATURES WILL CHANGE VERY LITTLE TODAY, BUT A FEW DEGREES
INCREASE IN NORTH CENTRAL OK WILL DIMINISH THE ICE EFFECT WHILE
STEADY OR SLIGHTLY FALLING TEMPERATURES IN THE WEST ADDS MORE
CONFIDENCE TO THE ONGOING ICE STORM WARNING. AS THE SURFACE TROUGH
MOVES SLOWLY EAST TODAY WINDS WILL BACK TO NORTH OVER THE WEST. THIS
WILL ALLOW FOR SLIGHT COOLING IN WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST ZONES.
TEMPERATURES ABOVE THE BOUNDARY LAYER MAY WARM SLIGHTLY TODAY, BUT
THAT SHOULD HAVE LITTLE AFFECT ON THE EXPECTED FREEZING RAIN ANYWAY.
IT COULD BE SIGNIFICANT FOR SLEET/SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS IN THE
NORTHWEST PART OF OK WHERE THE WINTER STORM WARNING CONTINUES. THIS
WARNING AND THE WESTERN MOST PART OF THE ICE STORM WARNING WILL
EXPIRE LATE THIS AFTERNOON, BUT THE WARNING AND FREEZING RAIN
ADVISORY TO ITS SOUTHEAST WILL BE EXTENDED INTO THIS EVENING.

ALTHOUGH THE ISENTROPIC LIFT DIMINISHES THIS AFTERNOON IN THE WEST
AND CENTRAL, THE SYNOPTIC LIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER JET
ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER LOW SHOULD BRING SUFFICIENT LIFT FOR
ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIPITATION THIS EVENING IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN
SECTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. THE APPROACH OF THE UPPER LOW MONDAY
MORNING WITH 500 TEMPS LOWER THAN -25 AND THE NORTHWEST LOW LEVEL
WINDS SHOULD CHANGE THINGS TO SNOW IN MOST LOCATIONS BEFORE ENDING
SHORTLY AFTERWARDS.

WITH MANY FIRST AND SECOND FORECAST PERIOD CONSIDERATIONS, NO
CHANGES WERE MADE TO THE EXTENDED FORECAST.

FCSTID = 9
OKC   36  31  38  30 / 100  70  40   0
HBR   32  25  39  27 / 100  40  20   0
SPS   41  30  46  30 / 100  70  30   0
GAG   28  20  35  23 / 100  40  20   0
PNC   32  26  35  26 / 100  70  40   0
DUA   46  36  43  30 / 100 100  40   0

.OUN...
OK...WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY ZONES 004-005-009-010
     ICE STORM WARNING TODAY ZONES 014>016-021-022-033>036
     ICE STORM WARNING THROUGH THIS EVENING ZONES 006>008-011>013-017-018
     FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY THROUGH THIS EVENING ZONES 019-020-023-024-
     037-038
TX...FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY THROUGH THIS EVENING ZONES 083>085.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 ice storm, 5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Harper

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Harper forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.789, -99.667 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ellis

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Ellis forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.218, -99.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Roger Mills

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Roger Mills forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.688, -99.696 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Woods

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Woods forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.767, -98.865 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Woodward

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Woodward forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.423, -99.265 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Alfalfa

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Alfalfa forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.731, -98.324 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Beckham

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Beckham forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.269, -99.682 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Blaine

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Blaine forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.875, -98.433 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Caddo

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Caddo forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.174, -98.375 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Canadian

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Canadian forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.542, -97.982 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Custer

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Custer forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.639, -99.001 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Dewey

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Dewey forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.988, -99.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Garfield

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Garfield forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.379, -97.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Grant

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.796, -97.786 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Greer

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Greer forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.936, -99.561 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Harmon

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Harmon forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.744, -99.846 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Jackson

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Jackson forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.588, -99.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Kay

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Kay forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.818, -97.144 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Kingfisher

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Kingfisher forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.945, -97.942 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Kiowa

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Kiowa forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
34.916, -98.981 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Logan

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Logan forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.919, -97.443 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Major

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Major forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.312, -98.536 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Noble

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Noble forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.389, -97.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Payne

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Payne forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
36.077, -96.976 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Washita

When
January 28, 10:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where
Washita forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
35.290, -98.992 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
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

More

Every storm in Oklahoma in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Oklahoma, January 2001

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: 5228837, 5228838, 5228839, 5228840, 5228841, 5228842, 5228843, 5228844, 5228845, 5228846, 5228847, 5228848, 5228849, 5228850, 5228851, 5228852, 5228947, 5228948, 5228949, 5228950, 5228951, 5228952, 5228953, 5228954, 5228955.