Being a relative newcomer to Houston, this is a local phenomenom! I’ve only been here 10 years but this is the first Snowfall I’ve seen- people ran out of the stores to see it and even take pictures ! Just a dusting you understand, abt 7pm last night and it warmed up 10 degrees overnight to melt it all this morning. I have a few pics of snow on the palm trees… weird. Reports from across the railroad indicate up to 4 inches in Beaumont… even stranger. I grew up in Chicago so I’m no stranger to snow, but this was a treat instead of a chore…I didn’t even have to shovel it in the morning! It hasn’t slowed the trains down a bit, either! Still railroading in Texas.
There was a layer of snow 1.5" deep on the ground/tarps/etc. here in College Station yesterday. Before that the last significant snowfall we had here was in 1985.
We have had just over five feet of snow this season, and a lot more on the traditional snow ridge about ten miles north. And yet, as the snow falls on Houston it melts here. Large expanses of my back yard are green as the snow slowly dwindles. The forecast is for a bit more snow followed by much warmer temps. Seems odd, though it really isn’t. After all, winter hasn’t yet begun!
I drove threw Old town Spring just to see it last night. It was coming down harder than I’ve ever seen it fall here before. It was distracting to drive through. The Christmas lights were on in town and everything was covered with snow. It was neat driving past the railroad yard in the height of it. You could watch switching in Houston in a snowstorm! That’s a new one for me. Been out there at night, in the daytime, in good weather, in rain, cold, hot, but snow was a first. Seeing it fall in sheets under the big yard lights was neat. Too bad it was night. There would have been some really neat pictures. I saw 2 cars spin out on the ice on the Cypresswood bridge over the railyard. Bad idea to go up there. Snow was sticking to all of the overpasses and you knew there was ice since everything has been pretty wet. Overall it was pretty fun but I’m glad we don’t deal with it anymore than just a passing curiosity. Out east a little bit on the other side of Lake Houston towards Dayton they got 6" of snow. Unreal for here. Then again 3 years ago we had our first white Christmas in history! What’s global warming?
Good thing you took pictures because it probably won’t happen again for the next ten years. …I’ve been here in the Houston area for about 25 years. It snowed in 1984, the big ice storm (no snow just ice in 1989) it snowed again in Galveston in 2005 and now 2008. I’ts 1 P.M. right now and all the snow is already gone.
The people here just don’t know how to drive in it. I was stuck on the Hartman bridge for 2 hours this morning watching the cars spin out, get stuck or go sideways spinning their tires, and then fish tailing down the other side. It reminded me of those penguins in the Anartic when its swimming time. They are all bunched up on the shore at the top of the hill, then do bellyflops, cartwheels, swan dives and what not to get into the water below…sheez!..rule one…when in an ice skid, don’t apply the brake! Well… unless you want to do doughnuts to the bottom of the hill…they never learned that here…chuck
I also live in Spring and the wife (native Houstonian) was out with a lot of the neighbors last night marveling at the event. I spent the first twenty something years of my life in Chicago, and was glad to leave that winter weather behind when I came to Texas in '77. It certainly was nice here last night, and glad the wife and neighbors enjoyed it.
The “worst” snow we had that I experienced here was in '89. I had a new 5.0 Mustang with a 5 speed and could not get up my driveway - and had to shovel it off before I could. There was only about 2 inches, but that was enough. Of course all this is nothing compared to the Chicagoland blizzard of 65 or 77…
I received this as part of an e-mail from a friend - I removed all references relating to those who espouse the theory of Global Warming and any references to their parentage[:O][:I][;)]
So here goes:
(Snow is falling in the New Orleans area. The National Weather Service says a mixture of sleet and snow is falling Thursday morning from Baton Rouge east across much of southeastern Louisiana. The winter weather closed some schools and created hazardous driving conditions. State Police Sgt. Stephen Lafargue says the I-10 and U.S. 190 bridges over the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge are closed. The steady march of sleet and snow into area of Mississippi has led to a number of closings, including more than a dozen school districts.)
(The flurries tied a record for Houston’s earliest snowfall ever and warmed the hearts of winter weather lovers who have pined for snow since it last made an appearance on Christmas Eve 2004. Since 1895, records indicate, snow has fallen this early just once — on Dec. 10, 1944.)
Looks like it could be comfortable and safe now for y’all to head down this way for Christmas after all[:-^]
Just a thought… I wonder if those with outdoor railroads could run their trains with snow on the tracks. It would probably short them out. But if not, they could set up a wedge or better yet a rotary plow to work thru the drifts. What a picture that would be!!!
It was GREAT! I’m originally from Maryland and have been stuck here in Pasadena, Texas for the past 31 years. I’ve seen it snow 4 times and there was that big ice storm around 1989 or so.
I work graveyard shift at Bush International Airport and driving to work last night was neat. The roads were clear but it was falling pretty heavy and reminded me of home. It had the airport really screwed up and I’ve never seen that many planes on the ground at one time. It snowed until about 3am or so and the wind was pretty strong too. I finally had a night at work that I truly enjoyed! Didn’t know airplanes could be fun any more.
Driving home at 8am wasn’t too bad. Lots of ice and slick spots on the west side of the Jersey barriers where the sun hadn’t melted it yet but overall only a few bridges were hairy. Driving in Houston is a real event on a good day but the little bit of ice really got the adrenalin flowing in a lot of folks.
Well heres what the storm brought me this morning. Its about 3 inchs. BUT…I will say they are some pretty big deer tracks in the drive way. Seems he or she always comes around when it snows.
They are calling for another coating to a inch tonight. Well I guess I will clean the house and make my way to the basement.
