It makes for interesting conversation, and lively Sun-Sentinel reader poll fodder, but the question of which was worse — the Great Ice Storm of 1994 or Winter Storm Fern in 2026 — is just a neighborly mental exercise for those who actually lived through both.
There is no right or wrong answer, because what are we really comparing? The number of light poles knocked down? The number of people without power? The length of the icicles? The thickness of the ice?
In a recent Sun-Sentinel poll on the topic, the subject drew 142 Facebook comments, with 79% of those saying '94 was worse. Only 33 people clicked through to the actual poll and cast a vote, but among those who did, 19 (58%) thought ’94 was worse while 14 (42%) said ’26.
It's a subjective topic, and we figured people would vote their heart — not base their opinion on statistics but on personal experiences and emotions.
How did it affect you and yours? Which was worse in that respect?
While a case could be made for either, from a personal standpoint, I would give 2026 the nod as the worst for several reasons, not the least being we were without power at home for six days in 1994 but had no electrical juice for 14 days and 15 hours this time around.
A Winter Storm Watch was issued for Tallahatchie County on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
As a Southerner, a Mississippian, Tallahatchie born and bred, during the course of six decades of life here, I have learned to take every winter weather advisory with a grain of salt. Predictions of snow or ice for our neck of the woods have been wrong much more often than they have been right, and that is due to no fault of the forecasters. Winter weather in the Deep South is fickle. Too many variables are involved.
Yet, because the chatter for Fern was so consistent and widespread, we were proactive in stocking up on bottled water, nonperishable food items and even ordered an extra half-cord of firewood that was delivered late on the night of Friday, Jan. 23, just before Fern blew in.
A day earlier, the National Weather Service had upgraded our threat level to an Ice Storm Warning and basically said we were in for it from late Friday through late Sunday.
On Saturday, Jan. 24, though, things did not look so bad. There was a little ice falling, primarily in the form of sleet. We thought maybe, just maybe, we had dodged an icy bullet. We still had power. Conditions were manageable. Maybe this storm would not be as bad as predicted.
As the afternoon progressed, however, Matt Laubhan, chief meteorologist for Mississippi Live Weather, kept pushing the narrative and cautioned against becoming complacent. We had withstood the first wave of this storm, but a second was coming, he noted. Not in so many words, but Matt seemed to be saying, "If you think this is bad, you ain't seen nothing yet!"
We still hoped. And doubted. And prayed.
When night fell we went to bed, hoping Fern would just get the heck out of Dodge and leave us alone.
Over in the morning, flashes of light illuminated the interior of our bedroom, followed by loud rolling thunder. I think that was a first for me, experiencing thunder and lightning in a winter weather scenario. It was the thunder ice, or thunder snow, that Matt had spoken of earlier that evening.
At 3:22 a.m., the power to our house went out.
When we arose Sunday morning, the 25th, the scene outside was eerily reminiscent of 1994. Gunfire exploded all around, except it was not gunfire at all. It was the sound of tall trees moaning and groaning from the weight of ice on their branches, followed by the increasingly more frequent loud “pop” of large limbs breaking away from the trees and crashing to the ground in a big thump.
Let me tell you, that is the moment that it all became very real for me
We had seen this movie before, and it was a horror film.
We began feeding the fireplace, which was our only heating source aside from layers of clothing and piles of quilts and blankets for the more than two weeks that we had no electricity.
We used flashlights, candles and a camping lantern to light our path in the house, still flipping light switches at almost every turn out of habit.
One thing I learned from Fern is that in a prolonged power outage situation, rechargeable lighting is a lot of trouble. Those gadgets may be "green," but I cannot see the benefits when I am standing or sitting in the dark. Batteries are the way to go for lighting. Today's batteries last longer than ever, and I had stocked up in recent months.
Cellphones, of course, have to be charged. That's one pain we did not have in 1994. Fortunately, this time, we had portable power stations that we could use at home to charge devices and then recharge the power stations at the office, which, like most of Charleston, went without power just three-and-a-half days.
We even converted some exterior solar accent lights to nighttime indoor use. Rechargeable is not nearly as bothersome when Mother Nature is doing the actual charging.
Krista and I ventured out in the SUV on Monday, Jan. 26, to take our first photos of the icy landscape beyond our home, as we had done on the day following the ice storm of 1994. Unlike ’94, the roads were so bad this time that we did not feel comfortable driving to the west side of the county. In '94, we traveled Highway 32 to Webb, Sumner and Tutwiler and drove through slippery ice and sludge that tested our nerves. The fact that we were now 32 years older had absolutely nothing to do with our decision to stick closer to home. (Cue the rolling eyes emoji.)
In ’94, we had a 3-month-old daughter and a 5-year-old son to care for, unlike 2026, when we played outside with our four young grandchildren.
I do think the damage to trees on our property was worse after the ice storm 32 years ago. But it was colder and the ice stuck around longer this time.
We survived both storms in good order, thank the Lord.
As for the burning question: 1994 or 2026?
I don't know. And I really don't care.
Both times, we had plenty to eat, plenty to drink, a roof over our heads, and were surrounded by family we love dearly.
If pressed on the mater, I would just flip a coin. In some respects, I would be right either way.
