Do You Remember the 2000 Christmas Day Ice Storm in Texarkana?

Texarkana may have escaped Tropical Marco which fizzled out this week, however, we may not be so lucky to escape Hurricane Laura. That being said, the forces of nature can sometimes be relentless, which reminds me of the ice storm we encountered on Christmas Day 2000.

Do you remember?  It was a day most Texarkanians will never forget. The conditions were ripe for what meteorologists would call the perfect storm. The evening started out with rain which eventually turned to freezing rain/sleet and lasted well into the night. I was spending Christmas with my folks that night when I remembered what sounded like shotgun blasts outside. Come to find out, that sound was from tree branches popping, breaking, and falling to the ground. It sounded like a war zone as the noise grew louder and more numerous throughout the evening. Electricity to the house was eventually lost to the falling trees and Texarkana was at a standstill as most roads and bridges were iced over. It wasn't until the next morning we found out all the damage that was done around Texarkana and the nearby states. Texarkana was in the dark for at least two weeks and some rural areas for almost a month before full power was restored.

The ice storm of 2000 seemed to bring the worst and best out of people, neighbors helping neighbors clean up the debris left by the fury of the storm.  On the other hand, the worst was generators being stolen around town along with some grocery stores that experienced some stolen food. However, the good news is that we all recovered but unfortunately a lot of trees didn't. Even today, if you look at some of the treetops around Texarkana you can still see the damage left behind.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that mother nature is very unpredictable, just when you think you have her figured out she throws you a curveball. That's why with Hurricane Laura approaching this week, it's better to be prepared than not it all. Whether we get a little rain, a lot of rain, flash flooding, or severe weather, you can bet that in Texarkana there will most likely be some flooding.

When I look back on the year 2000, everyone seemed more concerned about the Y2 scare that was supposed to crash all the computers, instead the only thing crashing was the trees. All I can think is 2000 and now 2020, what's going on? Make you wonder.

According to the National Weather Service, it was the worst ice storm since 1819.