Remembering the Christmas Eve 2004 ice storm

By Rory Ryan 
The Highland County Press

As we approach Christmas 2024, let us pause and remember a rather eventful Christmas 20 years ago this month.

The Ohio Valley was hit with a massive snowstorm – and an ice storm for a few "lucky" counties – that occurred Dec. 23-24, 2004. 

In many parts of the state, it still ranks as the worst winter storm on record. Snow accumulations reached 22 inches near Harrison, just northwest of Cincinnati and 20 inches south of Piqua. A National Weather Service map (below) shows Hillsboro with only one inch of not snow, but ice. Yes, that's correct. Instead of receiving a big snowfall, Highland County got ice – a lot of ice. 
  
Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses were left without power as winds gusted over 40 mph for almost three days across the Ohio Valley. Ohio reported an estimated 440,000 homes and businesses were left without electricity.

In addition, thousands were left stranded as almost all transportation was ground to a halt. In western Kentucky, there was a 29-mile traffic jam on Interstate 24, which stranded nearly 1,000 people in their cars overnight. The National Guard was called out.

As usual, I was on newspaper deadlines during the storm. Pam was home with our three children, anticipating the power outage. She didn't have to wait long.

As our daughter, Meghan, wrote in her newspaper column about the storm, "Our electricity and water didn’t hold up for long, so soon we were all bundled up in a feeble effort to keep warm. Lucky for us, we have a wood-burning stove in our basement. When Dad got safely home, he built a fire. After that, most of our time was spent in the basement, since it was the only warm room in the house. We were joined by our pets.

"Having no electricity, we had to use our wood-burning stove to cook our food. We had vegetable soup and slices of ham in a cast-iron skillet. We also heated water for hot tea, and we were all thankful for the hot food and drinks. That night we played cards by candlelight and a projector light from one of my old drawing toys. It was funny to see who surrounded our table. We looked like Eskimos in our bundled up sweaters, coats and blankets. It was definitely an enjoyable time for us, though, because we were having fun together."

Well, I'm not so sure about the "enjoyable" part. On Christmas Eve, I brought Pam and the kids to my mother's home (she had electricity); and then on Christmas Day, we went to my sister's home in Washington Court House. Maybe I'll re-publish Meghan's column before Christmas. She tells a good story.

After getting our Dec. 24 newspaper to the press, I spent Christmas Eve home alone in the basement. I listened on a battery-operated radio to the annual WLW canned Christmas programming. Without electricity, I had plugged in an old rotary-dial telephone for any emergency. I had exactly two calls: One from Scott Township Trustee Dewey West, who was doing as many security checks as he could, and another from friend James Scott, who volunteered to bring me anything I needed.

I appreciated both calls, but laughed at James' offer. With all the ice-covered roads, I doubt he could get here if he wanted to. (I had put four snow tires – two studded – on my vehicle about a week before the storm, so I could manage OK.)

I remember talking with former Hillsboro Mayor Dick Zink about the 2004 ice storm. 

December 2004 really sticks out the most in his mind, Dick said, when looking back over his time in office, when Hillsboro was immobilized by the ice storm. The city was without power, many homes without heat, and some residents were running out of food.

“(When the storm hit), I got called at about 3 o’clock in the morning, and I said, ‘Well, I’ll be right up.’" Dick told me. "So I go out, and I couldn’t open the front door because there was a tree against it. I couldn’t go out the garage because it was against the garage, too. So I went out the back and had to have someone come and pick me up.”

After days of helping city employees and area residents deal with the damage, Dick said that he got a call from the emergency shelter at the old Hillsboro High School cafeteria. 

“On Christmas morning, they were starting to run out of food at the shelter,” he said.

“I called Ed Bayless out at Great Scot (Community Market). I said, ‘Ed, they’re running out of food, can you help us?’ This is Christmas morning, now. He said, ‘Meet me at the store, and he and his daughter filled the trunk of my car with food. (The ice storm) was probably one of the worst things that has happened here.”

Hillsboro was able to overcome it, as it does all obstacles, by coming together as a community. I recall contacting FEMA about the lack of disaster aid for Highland County. The man who answered my call said "Hillsboro didn't get any snow. The storm went north."

He was correct, of course. We did not get snow. We would have preferred snow. We got ice. We were more like Charlie Brown on Halloween. We got a rock of ice. Well, since FEMA didn't feel it necessary to send anyone to Highland County, I asked the young fellow where he was getting his weather and road condition reports on Highland County.

He replied that ODOT was reporting to the agency. I found that hilarious – and most convenient. At that time, today's omnipresent radio personality of one Kathleen Fuller just happened to be the public information officer for ODOT District 9. She also just happens to be my sister.

When I told her FEMA was getting information on Highland County's situation from ODOT, she said that was not correct. Everyone at ODOT District 9 was well aware of the downed trees, power lines, water and power outages and slick roadways. They would not give FEMA misinformation.

So, I reported it under a huge Page 1 headline: "FEMA hasn't been here." Steve Roush provided a Page 1 photo of dozens of people standing in line at the Hillsboro Flagway to buy kerosene – and hoping they didn't run out.

Shortly after that story, Highland County received $500,000 in state and/or federal disaster assistance. The next day, the late Professor Bill Horne sent me an email: Final score: Rory, 500,000, FEMA, 0.

That was not accurate, but it was funny and typical from Bill. He was a dear friend. Those responsible for getting the much-needed assistance to the county included State Rep. David Daniels, the county commissioners, led by Commission President Russ Newman, Mayor Dick Zink, and the managers of all the local utility companies. 

I remember an overflow crowd at a county commission meeting during the storm's aftermath. When I walked in the commissioners' office, there was not a seat to be found. 

Russ Newman stood up from his seat at the center of the commissioners' desk and told me to sit down and get to work. I always appreciated that from Russ.

I'm sure many of our readers have their own memories of the 2004 Christmas Eve ice storm. Perhaps my funniest one was cutting a large tree that had fallen in our front yard. The yard was ice-covered, and we have a sloped edge down to the driveway and basketball court. Naturally, that's where the tree was. 

After chainsawing for a while, I slipped and slid down to the driveway on my back, holding the chainsaw in the air. I got up and started all over. Good times.

Did I mention I was 20 years younger then?

Merry Christmas, Everyone.

Rory Ryan is publisher and owner of The Highland County Press.

(Below, area snow totals as reported by the National Weather Service.)