Ice Storm in Mississippi, December 22 to 23, 2004

Name: Ice Storm in Mississippi, December 22 to 23, 2004
Start: 2004-12-22T17:00
End: 2004-12-23T00:00
Location: Mississippi

December 22 to 23, 2004 · NWS JAN · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 ice storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $400,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Bolivar

When: December 22, 5:00 PM CST to December 23, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Bolivar forecast zone
Property damage: $300,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 33.796, -90.880 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Sunflower

When: December 22, 5:00 PM CST to December 23, 12:00 AM CST
Where: Sunflower forecast zone
Property damage: $100,000
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 33.602, -90.589 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An ice storm hit portions of the Mississippi Delta just before Christmas and coated most of Bolivar and Sunflower counties with 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch of ice. During the afternoon of December 22nd, a mix of freezing rain and sleet began to fall, by 5 PM the freezing rain became the dominant precipitation type and accumulations near 1/4 of an inch began to occur on power lines and elevated surfaces. As the evening progressed, all roads were covered by a coating of ice as well as trees and power lines. By midnight, 38 automobile accidents occurred and numerous power lines were down causing power outages for most of Bolivar and Sunflower counties.

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 Mississippi in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Mississippi, December 2004

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5430617, 5430701.