Freezing rain occurrences during a 50-year period, 1949-1998, derived from carefully examined records of 161 first-order stations distributed across the United States, were assessed for temporal fluctuations and trends. Due to the spatial nature of freezing rain events (often associated with narrow bands of freezing precipitation), annual fluctuations varied greatly and were often dissimilar between adjacent stations making temporal interpretations difficult. Temporal fluctuations based on 5-year averages exhibited greater regional coherence. Classification of station fluctuations based on 5-year periods revealed different types of distributions which existed across the nation. This paper will describe how the freezing rain database was developed and examine the regional differences in the United States.