For those of us that remember the 1989 snowstorm...

[heights unknown]

I was in the Navy and was stationed in Stuttgart Germany.  Went on leave (Christmas Holiday) that Christmas and took a flight to Atlanta.  A German friend went with me and we rented a car from Atlanta to Sarasota and stopped in Jacksonville.  I remember the Weather Men saying that snow was in the forecast, and quite a bit for Florida.  After we left Jacksonville and arrived in Sarasota, they were showing all of the snow in Jacksonville...kids on sleds, people building snowmen, etc.; as I remember correctly, the weather system was a slow mover but extremely cold.  It didn't snow in Sarasota but we saw flurries in Sarasota and it did snow a little in Tampa.

By the way, that wasn't the only time it snowed in Jacksonville that I can remember.  It also snowed on March 2, 1980 and it snowed quite a bit.  The one thing I remember is it was raining for almost 24 hours and then when the front passed, the temperature plummeted about 40 degrees in a few hours and the rain turned to snow.  That snow didn't last long and a few days later the temperature shot up in the upper 80's...I guess God giving us a reprieve for the excruciating cold, and then a week later it was in the 90's and a month or two later we were having record heat in the 100's.  Weird weather that spring of 1980.

"HU"

[mtraininjax]

36 hours without power in Mandarin because the ice caused the trees along Mandarin road to keel over onto the power lines. Was not a fun 36 hours because the rain/ice made the wood wet and just a miserable way to spend Christmas.

[David]

I was 11 at the time, we made a snow man about 1.5 feet tall on the top of our 1976 malibu stationwagon. I remember everyone in our family piled in it afterwards and fought in the gridlocked traffic on I-95 to take my mother to work at Riverside hospital. The road was just a frozen glaze, cars were up against the guard rail every half mile it seemed. That was my first time seeing snow, and I didn't get to see it again until ten years later when I went on a ski trip.

I faintly remember seeing flurries in 93 and again in 96, but man, nothing in the years since then. has it really been that long since we've seen a trace snowfall?

[Overstreet]

I had a date that night. Took my new car out to drive in the ice. No real problems except the sitter called early when the power went out and I had to go home and get the temporary lights running for the kids. Then I went back to the party.

As I recall the only bridge that stayed open in Jacksonville was the old Acosta bridge. We tore it down and built one taller than the others. An ice storm will shut the new one down for sure.

[mtraininjax]

An ice storm will shut the new one down for sure.

What's that square shaped yellow road sign you see along the highway, oh yeah, "Bridge will ice before Road". If you are out driving in an ice storm, that is just crazy, you put yourself and families in danger, and 911 gets caught up in dealing with stupid people emergencies when real life and death can't get the assistance needed.

People in Jax can barely drive in the rain.

[David]

What's that square shaped yellow road sign you see along the highway, oh yeah, "Bridge will ice before Road".

Do we have those signs in Florida? I've only noticed them when driving through Georgia and points north. I remember that specifically because I never recalled seeing them anywhere around here, so it stood out to me.

The worst accidents we had during the "Floridian blizard of '89" were minor fender benders really. From what I remember, everyone was driving extra careful because they weren't used to the slick conditions.

[David]

Ah and also, I remember watching channel 12 news and laughing at how the cast was teasing Tim Deegan about being on vacation in the Bahamas when it was snowing back in Jax. He was kicking himself for missing such a freak weather event.

Don't ask me how I remember that, but i do. Damn, i've been in this town too long! haha.

[Bativac]

It snowed on my first birthday - March 2, 1980 - though I have no memories of it, obviously!

I was ten (I guess?) when the "big snowstorm" hit in 1989. I remember getting up to see a snow angel someone made in the driveway. Turns out my dad was out that night (he was always up all night on Christmas Eve grilling a turkey), smoking a cigarette and drinking a Coke, when he slipped and fell... lifelong resident of Jax that he is, he figured, when else would he have the chance? So he made a snow angel.

We took a few photos, made snowmen (tiny ones) and threw snowballs. Mom tried to drive us to church on Christmas and the station wagon went all over the place. We didn't even make it out of the neighborhood (which pleased me to no end)!

I moved to Maine 8 or 9 years later and learned what a real snowstorm is!

[DavidWilliams]

I remember the snow of '89 well. My son was 1 and we all attempted to drive to the local KMart to pick up a few last things for Christmas (decorations I think...I couldn't imagine much else I would have wanted from there :-)

Remember pulling up to the curb and the car sliding and finally coming to a rest with no damage. We really don't know how to drive in those conditions down here! -+


At any rate...Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! It is an interesting group of folks on here.

[thekillingwax]

Hah, I was 9 as well. My mom, aunt and grandmother didn't want to wake me up because I was still warm in bed but the power and phones had gone out and they wanted to venture out and see if they could find any warm food to bring home. I wake up and no one's there. No lights, no phone and absolutely no one outside. As a kid (and still a little to this day) I was always drawn to movies and books that focused on the end of the world and post-apocalyptic stuff. I remember going outside and everything being completely gray, even the light snow we had. At that point I was absolutely convinced we had been nuked and that I might possibly the only person left alive. I cried and freaked out a little and just as I was getting ready to accept my fate of scavenging and fighting mutants, they came back.

It's okay though, later that day we all went over to my dad's place and since he had a lot of open land in the middle of nowhere, he built a massive fire and it didn't feel like florida for once.