From the POV of NWS, their mission is to protect life and property. Given a difficult call between forecasting a few inches of plowable snow/sleet and a devastating ice storm, where it could really go either way or have both in the same region, I think they would rather warn people of the worst case scenario. Because if they don’t, and the ice storm happened, that would be a mission failure on their part, and it may cost people lives and property. Yes, there is also risk of a busted ice storm forecast in the eyes of the public, but that would be preferable over the former scenario.