*Editors note: this is a reprinting of a story I wrote that originally published in Carroll County News-Leader on January 24, 2024, looking back 30 years on the devastating ice storm that impacted much of the area.
Each year, the Mid South typically endures at least one bout with winter weather.
In Carroll County, it seems that with every instance of snow, sleet, or freezing rain, many residents recall the one winter weather event that is etched in the collective mind of the community: the great ice storm of 1994.
This remembrance takes a look around the County in the days leading up to, and immediately after, the ice storm.
It paints a picture of the event through the eyes and memories of those who lived the experience. First-hand accounts, mixed with reports from the time, provide the perfect time machine back to February 1994.
Storm’s A’Brewing
Atwood resident and current County Commissioner Randy Long recalled the weather leading up to the event.
He remembered warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico intermingling with an arctic front late in the evening on Wednesday, February 9, suddenly shifting the temperature from low 70s to low 30s.
“We didn’t have much of a warning, other than a winter storm warning,” Long recalled. “Memphis got freezing rain late in the evening on the 9th, so that was a little warning here.”
Long said, and weather reports from the time agree, that snow and sleet came first to Carroll County on Thursday, February 10.
Later that night, the moist Gulf air raised the temperature slightly.
“The snow and sleet then turned into freezing rain,” Long said.
The Ice and the Trees
As the freezing rain pounded Carroll County and the rest of the Mid South, ice began accumulating on everything.
Many reports mention accumulations of up to two inches or more in some places.
This ice buildup on limbs and branches was more weight than many trees could withstand.
These ice-laden branches and limbs began snapping and falling, one by one, all over the region.
“Icy tree limbs hitting the ice covered ground sounded like shotgun blasts,” Long recalled.
JB Hampton, a Buena Vista native was 14 years old.
He said the sounds of falling trees is one thing he’ll never forget.
“The tree branches popping and falling had me thinking my dog was gonna get killed. He was barking and running around the woods chasing all the branches and tree tops that were falling and popping,” Hampton said.
Widespread Power Outages
The falling tree branches and ice accumulation began knocking out power lines and affecting electrical sub stations across the County.
“I was in the process of cooking breakfast, and about the time I broke the eggs into the hot skillet, we lost electricity here in Atwood,” Long said.
Lynn Compton, then manager of the Carroll County Electric Department recalled, “All 15,000 of our customers were without power at one time or another.”
Mary Blackwell Johnson was stranded in Bruceton, her hometown, and recalled, “Most were out of power days and some weeks!”
Nancy Finley from Vale recounted, “We were very fortunate, as we had electric restored around 5 p.m. [the night of the storm].”
Hampton from Buena Vista recalled his family’s power being out for about two weeks.
Long said, “The four gas stations [in Atwood] could not pump gasoline or kerosene. A generator was brought in for Gerry’s Corner Market. Two pumps, a couple of lights, and the cash register were all that could be used at one time.”
Not everyone lost power, though. Granges, which was called Norandal at the time, had their power fed directly from TVA.
Carroll County Electric Department operations superintendent Gary Hatch remembered the effort he and his crews exerted in order to restore power.
They worked nearly around the clock.
“We did what we had to do, and had the best group of people working on it,” he said.
Hatch continued, “We basically rebuilt this system with all the help we had.”
TVA sent crews to Carroll County from all over to aid in the rebuilding effort.
Manager Compton said, “We got crews from Alabama, Chattanooga, Sevierville, and anywhere else we could get them.”
Long remembered the crews from Sevierville being in Atwood.
He said, “Electricity trucks from Sevier County came to Carroll County, and we had to pull them through the fields [with tractors] to work on downed lines and poles.”
Navigating the Devastation
The ice and devastation made travel difficult for everyone.
If trees weren’t blocking roads, there were power lines down, as well as the ice itself.
Damon Thompson, who was a senior at Huntingdon High School, recalled having to drive on the ice over downed power lines while avoiding tree limbs for most of the drive to his job at McDonald’s in Paris.
Jay Grant from McKenzie had just gotten his driver’s license.
His parents left to check on their family-run Sonic in Huntingdon.
Grant said, “Dad forbid me to leave the house on the ice. But left the keys to my car there. So I learned how to drive on the ice!”
Grant recalled that the power was out, but they still had natural gas.
They fired up the grill to keep warm, and to open for business.
“Remarkably,” Grant continued, “[my parents] managed to keep [Sonic] running, serving only burgers and coffee. It turned out to be one of their busiest days.”
On the other side of Huntingdon, Rusty Ross said the storm hit on his 20th Birthday.
Ross, a Huntingdon firefighter, said, “It was my first time to drive a fire truck by myself, and it was on ice having to dodge trees.”
Rescue Efforts
Ross recalled that the Huntingdon Fire Department responded to a house fire on Paris Street.
“The city was running out of water and I was told to go get our county District 1 engine,” Ross said.
He mentioned that the road was blocked by downed trees, and he had to back the engine up East Paris Street, drive around the bypass and back onto Paris Street from the other end to get to the burning house.
The issues with fallen trees didn’t stop there.
Westport native Ricky Hicks helped volunteer fire fighters with a rescue effort in the area.
Hicks said, “We spent all day using chainsaws trying to cut our way to Maple Creek Lake where James and Vickie Boyd were stranded.”
He continued, “We gave up [cutting] and [the couple] were dug out with a backhoe that belonged to the State.”
Back in Buena Vista, Hampton recalled, “It took three days to clear enough trees out of the road to get to town.”
Community Response and Aid
When things began to turn, residents quickly scrambled to prepare on Friday, February 11. During their run on the stores, several places in Huntingdon had already lost power.
It was reported in the Carroll County News-Leader on February 16, 1994 that Wal-Mart’s manager, Mike Smith let people into the store “a few at a time” so they could purchase supplies for the weekend, despite not having power.
“Hardware House marked down prices of many items and rush-ordered more items to help those who were in need,” The paper reported.
Despite many students being without power, all County schools besides Hollow Rock-Bruceton and West Carroll reported “better than average attendance” that Monday after the storm.
Many nursing homes had evacuated their residents, notably except LifeCare Center in Bruceton, which had backup generators.
Carroll County Emergency Management worked in conjunction with Red Cross to provide nearly 700 meals by the time the News-Leader had printed the article.
According to the paper, the National Guard provided people with a place to shower at the armory, as well as helped to clear right-of-ways and take water to rural areas.
Staying Warm
Without power, staying warm proved to be a challenge for many, though some fared well throughout the ordeal.
“Fortunately, for Jennifer, myself, and the boys, we heated our house with a wood stove then,” said Walter Butler, who was County Trustee at the time.
Butler recalled using the stove to cook on, as well.
News-Leader Editor Shirley Nanney wrote about her issues with heat in her editorial column on February 16, 1994.
Nanney wrote, “And the heat. Oh the heat. That’s what I missed most of all.”
She mentioned her and husband Ray trying to heat their home using the fire place with wood that was given to them by a neighbor.
“Instead of building a fire, we fought a fire,” she wrote, commenting on their struggle to keep the fire burning hot for a long period of time.
A Different Perspective
Despite all the frustrations and vast devastation throughout the county, some recall the ice storm with fondness.
Yuma native Candace Neuenschwander was five years-old when the storm hit.
She recalled, “I remember being without power for weeks, and we stayed next door at my grandma and grandpa Atkinson’s house. They had a gas stove that we used for heat and to cook on. We played board games, too!”
Grant from McKenzie recounted the scenery of the ice-covered landscape, saying “[It was] one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. It was magical.”
The Storm’s Lasting Impact
Overall, the effort to rebuild the County’s electrical infrastructure cost a little more than $1 million, according to Manager Compton. He mentioned that FEMA helped to pay some of that cost.
“We spared no expense,” Compton said, telling of an instance where he had to have sleeves shipped on a flight from North Dakota to Memphis.
Superintendent Hatch recalled crews working on lines and substations for around ten days.
He also mentioned that many residents with damaged electrical entrances didn’t have power restored until they had those entrances repaired by private electricians.
In some cases, that took weeks after the system was back running.
Electric Department Manager Compton stated that Natchez Trace State Park was the last place to have power restored.
Though the wounds of the ice storm that hit the area in February 1994 have since healed, the memory of the event is deeply rooted in the minds of everyone who endured it.
No amount of time, it seems, can wipe away the feeling of having been in those places at that time.
Next time winter weather comes into the area, just ask someone if it compares to ice storm.
More than likely, they’ll give a look of disbelief, chuckle a bit, and say, “Not even close!”
