An episodic, two-day ice storm in central Oklahoma rendered over a half million utility customers without electricity, the largest figure in state history. Schools closed for at least two days -- because of power outages and direct blockages by fallen trees, since the roads generally stayed too warm to ice over. Around half an inch to an inch of solid accumulation was quite common, busting branches and sometimes pulling down whole trees. I could hear those distinctive crack-n-crash sounds in the woods around my property for much of the day (when not sleeping), and saw several large branches topple -- an experience common to anyone outdoors across several nearby counties. Even though this wasn't the largest or deepest ice accumulation on record for the state, it will brand itself into the record books as one of the most expensive and messy.

Below, you'll find thumbnails of select images from the 2007 Oklahoma ice storm. As long as you allow "Active" controls in your browser, a picture frame will open containing the photo, as soon as you click on the thumbnail. [Note: I also cross-posted the ice images from the National Weather Center to the NWC photography gallery.]

===== Roger =====

Icy tangle of limbs	Sweetgum leaves with "ice claws", icicles that bend gradually as the branch sags	Aqua-colored power flashes reflect off ice-laden wires, distant center. The sparking went on for at least 10-15 minutes.	Coated seed pods of crape myrtle, early in the event
Bent and broken cottonwoods beside a pond	Icy tree limbs at night, National Weather Center	Icicles on young magnolia leaves	Tree damage in the woods adjacent to our house
Icing on a vine's leaf	Icy limbs in the lights of night, National Weather Center	Hoops, anyone?	Ice-encased pecans on limbs normally far overhead
Another dense tangle of icy brush	Tall grass (native big bluestem) in the ice	Comb of icicles (for use by Bigfoot?)	That and many more combs, viewed from the other side
National Weather Center in a nighttime ice storm. Freezing rain was falling at the time of this photo.	Icicles going different directions in a cedar. A combination of tree leaning and a wind shift combined to cause this peculiarity.	Jungle of ice	Angled icicles dangle from a leftover autumn leaf
Coated sweetgum leaf from below	Ice-encrusted Oklahoma countryside	Icy sapling at night, National Weather Center	Icing along our back row. Yes, that's a recent burn scar in the grass.
Ravaged elm tree beside my driveway, during the day. Get the chainsaw ready.	Night view of the severely damaged elm, about 12 hours later, in dense fog	From fire to ice: burned grass covered by freezing rain	Snapped, 3-ft diameter tree trunk in my woods, amongst numerous smaller trees and limbs that were busted
Bush berries in ice	Row of lights and icy young trees outside the National Weather Center	Iced-up hammock, not the place to relax today!	Barbed wire fence, smoothly coated but for the icicles