22 years ago: North Carolina is hit by a crippling ice storm.

You were probably sitting in the dark 22 years ago if you were a resident of the North Carolina Piedmont, which comprises Raleigh, Greensboro, and Charlotte.

The majority of the area was ravaged by an ice storm that occurred from December 4-5, 2002, with up to an inch of ice accumulation.

Although an inch of ice might not seem like much, bear in mind that snow accumulates more ice than ice does. Trees and power wires often fall with as little as a quarter-inch of ice.

The December 2002 ice storm was dubbed an ice storm for the ages by the State Climate Office.

In North and South Carolina, more over half of Duke Energy’s customers had power outages. More interruptions occurred in both states than following Hurricane Hugo in 1989.

Technicians took up to 10 days to get electricity back to the central Carolinas.

After the storm, a 9-year-old child perished in a space heater fire, according to the State Climate Office. A further 200 individuals were admitted to hospitals due to carbon monoxide poisoning brought on by inadequate ventilation of gas-powered heaters and kerosene-powered alternative heat sources.

According to the North Carolina Insurance News Service, the ice storm caused $113 million in property damage.

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