Do ice storms affect the environment?
Animals active in the winter must also cope with the effects of an ice storm. Many animals starve when they are unable to reach seeds, buds, or other food locked in the ice. Deer, for example, find it difficult to browse when young shoots become encased in ice. Birds unable to find a sheltered perch during the storm may have their feet frozen to a branch or their wings covered in ice making them unable to fly. Grouse buried in snow drifts are often encased by the ice layer and suffocate.
