An ice storm double whammy hit Oklahoma starting on Monday morning at 5:00 a.m. The second wave of freezing rain came through last night. This ice storm is so devastating because Oklahoma’s trees still had most of their leaves.
This year, winter arrived before fall moved on.
I awoke to heavy limbs crashing all around the house, and the pink muhly grass is no more this year. [To enlarge gallery photos, simply click on them.] I thought I would do comparisons so you can tell how bad it is.
Pink muhly grass and Mexican bush sage after the ice storms hit. 
Pink muhly and Mexican bush sage only a few days ago.
According to KOCO News 5, “it’s the earliest ice storm warning that the National Weather Service in Norman has ever issued.”
Garage border with Japanese maples bowed down by ice. In the background is the Eastern redcedar that Little Cedar Garden is named after. 
Right outside my kitchen door is this border next to the garage. Japanese maples like Emperor II make it so very pretty in spring. 
Japanese maples bowed down by ice in the garage border.
As of this writing 157,000, OG&E customers were without power. OG&E’s website crashed from all the outage reports. Edmond Electric serves much of Edmond, Oklahoma, and many of their customers are also without power. According to the Oklahoma Electric Cooperative’s Facebook page, they have 11,100 members without power. Because the weather first came from the northwest and then from Texas, our entire state is suffering from an ice overload.
Here at Little Cedar Garden, so far, we have electricity and internet service which really surprises me with all the tree damage. We bought firewood at the end of winter/beginning of spring last year so we have plenty in case our electricity gives up the ghost. Bill went outside and cut tree limbs away from the power line that runs to our house.
Limbs down in the lower garden. This is the pathway from the back door to the Little Green She Shed. I just realized there’s a native spicebush under that limb. I need to go move that limb. 
Lindera benzoin,spicebush, against ‘Ogon’ spirea. A favorite combo for this shady spot.
Every few minutes, we hear a crash outside, and Bill and my son-in-law, Robert, are trying to saw some ice-laden limbs before trees split in half.
We have trees down everywhere. It will take a lot of work to saw up all the limbs and debris. The weather is supposed to warm tomorrow. I can see what our weekend will look like.
I just listened to the weather, and the third wave of sleet and freezing rain is headed this way. 2020 is just the year that keeps on giving. I wish it would go away.
UPDATE: We just lost The Rising Sun redbud next to the driveway along with a bunch of other trees. This is the worst ice storm I’ve ever seen in 58 years. The rain simply added to the weight and then froze to the limbs.
The Rising Sun redbud destroyed by the storm. 
Another view of The Rising Sun redbud. I’m very sad about this tree. 
Smaller limbs down behind daughter’s car. Robert moved her car right after this one came down. He was moving the other cars when it happened.
I thought about you and Linda Vater as the storm was devastating to our gardens. Our eight majestic oak trees look like an F1 tornado hit and the sound of crashing limbs was sickening to hear. We had big damage from ice back in 2015 but this is far worse as the tops of trees are broken. I’m sorry you don’t have power…we lost power 7 days ago and just got it back today after our electrician fixed the service riser to our power line . We also have fence damage. We had a crew of 4 guys clean up and the pile is taller than our house. I’m so sorry about your gardens. Glad you have a generator…ours was a life saver! Hope we have a better year next year in the gardens. Of course my order from Colorblends showed up Friday! Sending you well wishes in this difficult time!
Hi Sonia, I’m so sorry about your garden. This ice storm was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. We still don’t have power, so I’m super grateful for the generator. We too have fence damage, and so many trees are down. A group is coming by today to give us a quote on some of the trees and removing some of the debris. We already have a brush pile that is bigger than our house. It’s sitting in my meadow as I write. I hope 2021 is easier. I truly do. I hope your garden comes back abundantly. Mine will too with time. Thanks so much for stopping by.~~Dee
What a sad, sad garden tragedy! And so early too. I’m puzzled, because even here so far north of you, we had only one light frost when you had this ice storm. Just shocking. I’m really sorry.
It was the mix of a northern cold front that came from Colorado and Kansas and warm Gulf moisture because of a hurricane’s approach. A very unusual incident. The trees still had all of their leaves. In fact, they were just starting to change in color. We will come through this. It will just take work and time. Thank you so much for your kind thoughts. They really help.~~Dee
If I was going to dress up for Halloween this year I would wear a garbage bag with 2020 written on it. Your ice storm must have been the last straw for you, Dee. I mentioned it, and linked with your blog, in my latest posting. P.x
Oh, thank you Pam. I hate 2020. I hate the coronavirus. However, we cleared off the driveway and the front yard so things are looking up a bit. I hope my back garden is our next stop.~~Dee
Oh my Gosh Dee. What a terrible mess. I hope everything works out ok. Be safe.
Hi Lisa, it will eventually. Actually, the damage became much worse because we had three waves of freezing rain. However, the sun is out now so we’re starting to work on things. We still don’t have electricity, but we bought a generator. ~~Dee
So sorry to see this. Ice is such a problem. I hope you find some amazing transformations next spring when everything can start growing again.
It will be ok. Just a lot of work in the meantime. We gardeners are made of strong stuff. ~~Dee
The devastation is terrible! Jim’s outside and I’m hearing the chainsaw going! So many limbs down. Hoping my pine in the center of the island will survive. We have the craziest weather!
I hope your pine survived. Our loblolly pines lost a lot of branches, but they are still alive.~~Dee
Every time you think 2020 can’t get worse, it does. What a weather nightmare. We have had this happen but not seriously at our garden for quite some time. So sorry for all your garden losses and esp. for everyone without power etc. The week my mom died (some years ago) there was a freak October snow storm where she lived and the trees were all still full of leaves. The devastation was incredible, so I can sadly imagine the larger landscape.
Hey Linda, I’ve never seen a storm quite this bad. It had three waves of ice so it was awful. We still don’t have power, but we bought a generator. At least we have lights and a few things and a fireplace. Living out in the country, we expect to be one of the last one’s with power restored. I feel sorry for everyone who has been cold. It’s hard. I was shocked at the damage, but people are already starting to pick up and get on with things. 🙂 Thank you for commenting!~~Dee
2020 – just stop already!!! Hope you are safe and warm.
Hi Lin, 2020 has been hard on everyone hasn’t it? I am definitely safe. As for warm, I will be once the power comes back on. We will get through this. ~~Dee
Wow I am so sorry. It is so hard seeing all the plants so covered in ice. It is so devastating.
Well, Becky, I hate to say it, but things got worse after I wrote this post. However, I’m at the acceptance stage of things now. I just want to get it cleaned up so we can assess the damage to the garden. Thanks for your kind words.~~Dee
Oh, this is just so tragic, Dee. I’ve been seeing ice storm photos on Facebook from other Oklahomans, and I’ve been thinking of you. Dang. Ice storms are the worst–much worse than snow, especially when the trees still have leaves. So sorry, Dee.
Beth, I don’t remember ever getting an ice storm this early. The poor trees are a mess everywhere. Still, the ice melted, and we’ll rebuild. It’s what we do.~~Dee
That’s awful, Dee. So sorry to hear about the redbud.
Hi Heather, I realized I lost one of my small Japanese maples too after one of the large limbs landed on it. It’s going to be a replanting Spring I think.~~Dee
Here in Tulsa we got lucky, but I can totally relate. The ice storm of 2007 was awful. I have an over 70 year old elm in my front yard that spreads across street and over house. That cracking of limbs and then crashing was like gunshots all night long. It was May before all limbs were picked up. I
Have been to your place and I am really sorry this is happening. Beautiful mature trees are so important.
Hi Merrilyn, yes, 2007’s ice storm really did a number on the Tulsa area. I don’t know when we will get all of this cleaned up. It will take months and lots of help. Thanks for your sweet words. The garden will grow again, and some of our native oak trees will survive. Plus, the sun is out and shining. That helps.~~Dee
We’re down in OKC and our two beautiful oak trees in the front yard are devastated. I am beyond sad. I am so sorry to see your losses!!!!
Hi Anna, I’m so sorry. My deepest sympathies. I hope you find someone who can help you rehab your beautiful oak trees. I hope someone can help us too.~~Dee
Oh my! That is just crazy! I am praying for y’all! No time to close the garden for the winter. So sad about the red bud and all the other trees. Stay safe!
Hi Karin, oh well, whaddya gonna do? 🙂 The sun is out, and the temperatures finally warmed up. Once we get the power back on, we can assess the damage and work on the trees. The back garden is a total disaster.~~Dee
Dee – This is terrible. When we lived up in the hills we occasionally had bad snow/ice storms, so I can commiserate. Now that we live in the valley we are mostly battling leaves.
Hi Pat, I’ve decided ice storms are the worst. Leaves are a lot of work too.~~Dee
Ice storms are so very devastating. I would much rather have huge snow amounts than ice.
So sorry for all the loss.
Me too, Jenny, me too.~~Dee
So sorry for the terrible destruction. I’m glad you are all safe.
Thank Kathy, we are safe. We bought a generator, and I’ll do another post update soon when we start working on the trees. It was quite the storm. I’ve never seen anything like it. ~~Dee
Ohhh, Dee. So sorry about your Rising Sun redbud. I know it was a favorite.
How heartbreaking and devastating, Dee! You don’t think the redbud will come back from the trunk? 2020 just won’t give us a break!
Hi Ginny, I don’t think so. I’ve cut all of the limbs off, and I’m going to let it go. It would probably spout a few small branches, but they wouldn’t ever be strong. It’s ok. That was a dumb place to plant a tree anyway. I’m already thinking about where I can plant another The Rising Sun redbud. ~~Dee
Hi Denise, it was, but I’m going to lose a lot of favorite trees after this is all over. I’ll update in a post soon.~~Dee
Oh no! It looks awful with an extra helping of horrible. 2020… we won’t forget this year for a long, long time!
Carol, I’ve seen a lot of memes about 2020 and the ice storm that made me laugh. 2020 really sucks.~~Dee