Ice Storm in Texas, January 29 to 30, 2002

Name: Ice Storm in Texas, January 29 to 30, 2002
Start: 2002-01-29T18:00
End: 2002-01-30T06:00
Location: Texas

January 29 to 30, 2002 · NWS AMA · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

and Canadian Texas. Several accidents were reported across the northern Texas panhandle due to the ice.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 5

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 AMA wrote it up.

An arctic air mass in place over the northeastern Texas panhandle along with abundant moisture over the cold air produced a quarter of an inch or more of ice at Spearman...Perryton...Lipscomb...Miami...and Canadian Texas. Several accidents were reported across the northern Texas panhandle due to the ice. The Lipscomb County Sheriff's Office reported several tractor-trailers going off the road during the night and into the morning hours and stretches of U.S. Highway 83 and U.S. Highway 60 had to be shut down temporarily.

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 Amarillo, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 29, 3:30 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 29, 3:30 PM CST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

TEXAS/OKLAHOMA PANHANDLES FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AMARILLO, TX
330 PM CST TUE JAN 29 2002

MIXED BAG OF WINTRY PRECIPITATION IS IN STORE FOR THE PANHANDLE
REGION TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY. THE COLD FRONT THAT CLIPPED THE
NORTHEAST ZONES YESTERDAY...HAS MOVED STEADILY WEST DURING THE LAST
24 HOURS...AND IS NOW LOCATED NEAR A DALHART...TO BORGER...TO
CLARENDON LINE THIS AFTERNOON.

THIS COLD FRONT WILL UNDERCUT A LAYER A WARM AIR...TRANSPORTED FROM
THE APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM. AS THE DYNAMICS AND UPSLOPE FLOW
IMPROVE...PRECIPITATION WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD. FREEZING RAIN OR
SLEET SHOULD DEVELOP NORTH AND EAST OF THE FRONT...RESULTING IN ICE
ACCUMULATIONS OF 1/4 TO 1/2 OF INCH TONIGHT. SNOW WILL ALSO ENTER
INTO THE EQUATION...AND BY EARLY WEDNESDAY...THE DEPTH OF THE COLD
AIR SHOULD DEEPEN...EVENTUALLY COMPLETING THE TRANSITION TO ALL SNOW
FROM NORTH TO SOUTH.

WELL ISSUE A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TONIGHT FOR THE NORTHERN TWO-
THIRDS...AND WILL CONTINUE THE WINTER STORM WATCH FOR WEDNESDAY OVER
THE SOUTH. AS THE SCENARIO CONTINUES...THIS WARNING AND WATCH SHOULD
BE EXTENDED OR UPGRADED.

SNOWFALL WILL DIMINISH THURSDAY MORNING...AS THIS SYSTEM LIFTS TO
THE EAST.

DRY CONDITIONS AND GRADUAL WARMING IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE
REMAINDER OF THE 7-DAY FORECAST. WARMEST TEMPERATURES ARE ON TAP FOR
SUNDAY AND MONDAY...BEFORE A WEAK COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH LATE
MONDAY.

FCSTID = 8
AMA   32  34  29  35 /  70 100  60  20
DHT   28  30  24  35 /  50 100  60  20

.AMA...
OK...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT.
TX...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT NORTH OF HARTLEY...BORGER...
WHEELER LINE...AND WINTER STORM WATCH WEDNESDAY SOUTH.

08

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Hansford

When: January 29, 6:00 PM CST to January 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Hansford forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.278, -101.354 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Hemphill

When: January 29, 6:00 PM CST to January 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Hemphill forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.838, -100.270 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Lipscomb

When: January 29, 6:00 PM CST to January 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Lipscomb forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.278, -100.273 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Ochiltree

When: January 29, 6:00 PM CST to January 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Ochiltree forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 36.278, -100.816 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Roberts

When: January 29, 6:00 PM CST to January 30, 6:00 AM CST
Where: Roberts forecast zone
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 35.839, -100.813 (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 Texas in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, January 2002

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: 5279601, 5279602, 5279603, 5279604, 5279605.