The Biggest Texas Ice Storm You Never Heard About

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• This legendary ice storm caused devastation in the Pineywoods of East Texas.
• Austin received a record 7" snowfall, while East Texas was covered in a sheet of ice.
• Slippery conditions and tons of snapped pine trees made roads impassable for days.

In Texas, we generally don't get blizzards and huge snowstorms. Here it is the cold and ice that gets the most attention, while causing the most destruction.

In Austin on February 1, 2023, many Austinites were without power for days after an ice storm according to the Texas Tribune. This is the most recent example of an ice storm in Texas crippling an area, and causing major damage to many trees.

Much of Texas also endured historic low temperatures, ice, and snow in what is now known as the Great Texas Freeze of 2021. Texas is no stranger to cold weather and the glazing of trees in an ice storm.

The Worst Texas Ice Storm You Have Never Heard About

According to stories from my grandfather, my uncle Rodney was born right before a horrible ice storm. His birth in Lufkin, Texas on January 5, 1944, missed the 1944 East Texas Ice Storm by just 8 days.

Near the end of WWII on January 13, 1944, East Texas experienced one of its worst ice storms ever. Wind and ice destroyed thousands of loblolly pine trees in Nacogdoches and Angelina County.

The same storm uprooted many trees on North Street in Nacogdoches. Back then the damage was estimated at $16 million. That would be equivalent to $272 million today.

Hopefully, no one will be writing stories about our upcoming winter and it will be just as calm as our 2023 hurricane season. Source: W.E. White - Texas Ice Storm