Residents, government officials and recovery crews are still working to clear the icy damage from an unprecedented winter storm that hit multiple states Jan. 23-25.

In addition to the ice, the cold front known as Winter Storm Fern dumped snow and freezing rain across two dozen states ranging east from Texas to Florida and north to Maine. According to the Weather Channel, over 700 reports of freezing rain accumulation or ice storm damage were reported to the National Weather Service.

In some places, the effects were extreme. Boston broke the daily snow record on Sunday, Jan. 25 with more than 16 inches, besting the previous record that had stood for more than 100 years by more than 7 inches. In other places, the effects were nothing less than surreal, like in parts of the Florida panhandle that experienced sub-freezing temperatures and snow. The death toll has also risen to 69.

The storm was highly destructive. Tennessee was perhaps the hardest hit, and in particular, Nashville, where the local utility, Nashville Electric Service (NES), reported up to 230,000 outages at the peak of the weather event. NES projects about 99% of customers will have their power restored by Feb. 9. 

Restoring power has been a challenge for lineworkers and other crews, many of whom have been working long, exhausting shifts in dangerous, icy conditions.

In a Q&A published online, Ken Macken, safety director for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), addressed the safety hazards facing line crews who are working to restore power after the storm.

“Ice build-up, wind and total weight of ice on structures is our arch-nemesis,” Macken said. Felled trees, “radial ice wraps” around conductors, access and travel times, and long workdays are just some of the challenges.

But the well-being of crews is paramount. “We will never sacrifice safety for the speed of restoration,” he said.

The work is paying off. According to the Edison Electric Institute, an association that represents investor-owned utility companies, about 90% of affected customers had their power restored as of February 1.

Header image: Fallen trees covered in ice block a road and cause damage to electrical distribution power lines in Nashville. Photo by Scott Greer on Unsplash.