Making History: It snows for the first time in 109 years. - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Charlie Max · 12-26-2004, 04:01 PM

This is probably a piece of cake to people that are tired of dealing with snow, but check this out.

Valley enjoys first white Christmas in recorded history

BY KEVIN GARCIA
The Brownsville Herald

December 26, 2004 — As the clock struck midnight, people waiting up for a hint of Santa Claus received a different kind of surprise — the sound of snowflakes hitting ice-covered windows.

For the first time in 109 years, the Rio Grande Valley was covered in snow — its first white Christmas in recorded history.

“We had an inch and a half of snow in Brownsville and that’s the most snow we’ve had since 1895,” said Greg Flatt, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Brownsville. “We had reports; Hebbronville had 5 inches, Harlingen had an inch and half, Port Isabel reported 3 inches and (South Padre) Island had 2 to 3 inches.”

On Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, 1895, Brownsville received between 5 and 6 inches of snow. On Saturday, some areas here received as much as 2 inches, but by noon most of the evidence had melted away.

Although the snow brought some unwanted side effects, including ice-covered roads and power outages, most of the Rio Grande Valley greeted their white Christmas with a mixture of bewilderment and joy.

Sam Arjona, 20, was spending the first hours of Christmas morning with his 18-year-old brother Javier and their friends when they discovered the snow.

“We were watching movies and I heard rain, but when I came outside there was a lot of snow,” Arjona said. “I thought, ‘What is this?’ Then I saw the car frozen and I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I came to my (uncle’s) house and I was knocking on the door at 2 in the morning, and he said, ‘Oh my God!’”

After a snowball fight, Arjona and his friends built a snowman.

Thousands of others in the city discovered the white landscape several hours later.

In North Brownsville, 14-year-old Austin del Castillo opened Christmas presents before heading outside to make a snow angel in his front yard.

“My dad woke me up at 5 in the morning,” said del Castillo, who had a snowball fight with his friends after making his angel. “It was worth it.”

It was his first experience with snow, although other neighborhood children swear they saw some here in the mid-1990s that melted before it hit the ground.

“It was kinda weird seeing the whole neighborhood under a blanket of snow,” del Castillo said. “I didn’t know how it felt. It’s totally weird, but cool.”

The snowflakes also prompted child-like excitement from 32-year-old Juan Martinez.

“I wanted to play in the snow,” he said. “(When I saw it) I thought I’d been drinking because this is a first.”

His friend, 30-year-old Arturo Alverado Real, was still celebrating the holiday snow after the Christmas sunrise.

“Viva libertad (Long live liberty)!” he exclaimed as he raised his arms in joy in front of the snowman he and Martinez built. “Viva la nieve blanca (Long live white snow)!”

Not everyone was giddy about the snow.

Dorina Martin, 60, moved to Paul’s RV Park in Brownsville from Maine two years ago after visiting each winter years before.

“(We moved) to get away from the long cold weather,” she said. “Usually we get from a few inches to a few feet of snow and you can really get buried. This year for some reason (Maine has) a green Christmas, and that’s not common.”

Although snow was nothing new to her, she was glad to see it for Christmas.

“I loved it; it finally looked like Christmas, for me anyway,” she said, adding that 12 hours of snow isn’t as bad as several months.

Unlike native Valley residents, Martin had no problem driving in the snow.

“It didn’t bother me at all, but I noticed other cars were going 30 miles an hour a little timidly,” Martin said. “I thought it was so funny because I’m just going right along and they were just crawling.”

Despite icy road conditions, emergency crews faced relatively few accidents.

“I think we had three (in the morning),” said Assistant Fire Chief Randy Russell. “Usually there’s a lot more than that, but I guess there were a lot of people staying in.”

That gave on-duty firemen time to enjoy a Christmas meal and some recreation in the snow. Russell and another supervisor were attacked by an unidentified firefighter armed with snowballs.

“We’ll get them back another day,” Russell said.

If the assistant fire chief’s redemption plans involve snowballs, he might have quite a wait – perhaps another 109 years.

No snow is in the forecast today, or any other day in the foreseeable future.

“(This) morning we might get a light freeze but most of the snow should be gone,” Flatt said. “After that it will be in the low 60s and into the 70s all next week.”

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 12-26-2004, 04:03 PM

They stole it from us in NY. Fine, be that way, greedy bastards.

Fleet · 12-26-2004, 05:52 PM

Well, I guess we won't be hearing about the phony "global warming" theory for a while!

JT · 12-26-2004, 07:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Pleasant Tomorrow*
They stole it from us in NY. Fine, be that way, greedy bastards.

Actually, that would make you a greedy bastard for complaining, because NY gets snow every year, yet you want to have their snow as well...

musicradio77 · 12-26-2004, 07:53 PM

Snow doesn't get it last night on Christmas day in New York City.

Hollow · 12-27-2004, 03:04 AM

good for them, it snows all year long here.

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 12-27-2004, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JT
Actually, that would make you a greedy bastard for complaining, because NY gets snow every year, yet you want to have their snow as well...

Damn right I want their snow as well.

Sara Micelli · 12-27-2004, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Pleasant Tomorrow*
Damn right I want their snow as well.

Charlie Max · 12-27-2004, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Pleasant Tomorrow*
Damn right I want their snow as well.

Or maybe you would prefer a 20ft. tsunami of pure white snow over your head instead. Then you would have all the snow you want.

Great observation, JT.

Hollow · 12-27-2004, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie Max
Or maybe you would prefer a 20ft. tsunami of pure white snow over your head instead. Then you would have all the snow you want.

Great observation, JT.

ugh tell me about it. i got hit by a tsunami the other day in the earthquake. i had my floaties with me though but damn i couldnt reach the surface for like 20 sec.

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 12-27-2004, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie Max
Or maybe you would prefer a 20ft. tsunami of pure white snow over your head instead. Then you would have all the snow you want.

Great observation, JT.

Sounds good

SNOWMANS FOR EVERYONE NOW we can allll have friends!~!!

Charlie Max · 12-27-2004, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Pleasant Tomorrow*
Sounds good SNOWMANS FOR EVERYONE NOW we can allll have friends!~!!

See. There you go.

All's well at the beach, frosty....

*Pleasant Tomorrow* · 12-27-2004, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Charlie Max
See. There you go.

All's well at the beach, frosty....

Huh? If Frosty went to the beach he'd die...

JT · 12-27-2004, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Pleasant Tomorrow*
Huh? If Frosty went to the beach he'd die...

And if you came to my front porch, you'd die!

Max Whittaker · 12-30-2004, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fleet
Well, I guess we won't be hearing about the phony "global warming" theory for a while!

I don't believe it's global warming in the sense that the whole planet will heat up. It's more of an issue of global change.

12-26-2004, 04:01 PM	#1
Charlie Max Say it with Music Frequent Poster Join Date: Jul 07, 2002 Location: In the Northwest Mountains Posts: 263	Making History: It snows for the first time in 109 years. This is probably a piece of cake to people that are tired of dealing with snow, but check this out. Valley enjoys first white Christmas in recorded history BY KEVIN GARCIA The Brownsville Herald December 26, 2004 — As the clock struck midnight, people waiting up for a hint of Santa Claus received a different kind of surprise — the sound of snowflakes hitting ice-covered windows. For the first time in 109 years, the Rio Grande Valley was covered in snow — its first white Christmas in recorded history. “We had an inch and a half of snow in Brownsville and that’s the most snow we’ve had since 1895,” said Greg Flatt, lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Brownsville. “We had reports; Hebbronville had 5 inches, Harlingen had an inch and half, Port Isabel reported 3 inches and (South Padre) Island had 2 to 3 inches.” On Feb. 14 and Feb. 15, 1895, Brownsville received between 5 and 6 inches of snow. On Saturday, some areas here received as much as 2 inches, but by noon most of the evidence had melted away. Although the snow brought some unwanted side effects, including ice-covered roads and power outages, most of the Rio Grande Valley greeted their white Christmas with a mixture of bewilderment and joy. Sam Arjona, 20, was spending the first hours of Christmas morning with his 18-year-old brother Javier and their friends when they discovered the snow. “We were watching movies and I heard rain, but when I came outside there was a lot of snow,” Arjona said. “I thought, ‘What is this?’ Then I saw the car frozen and I said, ‘Oh my God.’ I came to my (uncle’s) house and I was knocking on the door at 2 in the morning, and he said, ‘Oh my God!’” After a snowball fight, Arjona and his friends built a snowman. Thousands of others in the city discovered the white landscape several hours later. In North Brownsville, 14-year-old Austin del Castillo opened Christmas presents before heading outside to make a snow angel in his front yard. “My dad woke me up at 5 in the morning,” said del Castillo, who had a snowball fight with his friends after making his angel. “It was worth it.” It was his first experience with snow, although other neighborhood children swear they saw some here in the mid-1990s that melted before it hit the ground. “It was kinda weird seeing the whole neighborhood under a blanket of snow,” del Castillo said. “I didn’t know how it felt. It’s totally weird, but cool.” The snowflakes also prompted child-like excitement from 32-year-old Juan Martinez. “I wanted to play in the snow,” he said. “(When I saw it) I thought I’d been drinking because this is a first.” His friend, 30-year-old Arturo Alverado Real, was still celebrating the holiday snow after the Christmas sunrise. “Viva libertad (Long live liberty)!” he exclaimed as he raised his arms in joy in front of the snowman he and Martinez built. “Viva la nieve blanca (Long live white snow)!” Not everyone was giddy about the snow. Dorina Martin, 60, moved to Paul’s RV Park in Brownsville from Maine two years ago after visiting each winter years before. “(We moved) to get away from the long cold weather,” she said. “Usually we get from a few inches to a few feet of snow and you can really get buried. This year for some reason (Maine has) a green Christmas, and that’s not common.” Although snow was nothing new to her, she was glad to see it for Christmas. “I loved it; it finally looked like Christmas, for me anyway,” she said, adding that 12 hours of snow isn’t as bad as several months. Unlike native Valley residents, Martin had no problem driving in the snow. “It didn’t bother me at all, but I noticed other cars were going 30 miles an hour a little timidly,” Martin said. “I thought it was so funny because I’m just going right along and they were just crawling.” Despite icy road conditions, emergency crews faced relatively few accidents. “I think we had three (in the morning),” said Assistant Fire Chief Randy Russell. “Usually there’s a lot more than that, but I guess there were a lot of people staying in.” That gave on-duty firemen time to enjoy a Christmas meal and some recreation in the snow. Russell and another supervisor were attacked by an unidentified firefighter armed with snowballs. “We’ll get them back another day,” Russell said. If the assistant fire chief’s redemption plans involve snowballs, he might have quite a wait – perhaps another 109 years. No snow is in the forecast today, or any other day in the foreseeable future. “(This) morning we might get a light freeze but most of the snow should be gone,” Flatt said. “After that it will be in the low 60s and into the 70s all next week.”
	__________________ "Music is the art of thinking with sounds." ~Jules Combarieu~

12-26-2004, 04:03 PM	#2
Pleasant Tomorrow Member Forum Addict Join Date: Feb 19, 2003 Location: New York Posts: 69,525	They stole it from us in NY. Fine, be that way, greedy bastards.
	__________________ my name is ashlee Welcome! Everything is fine.

12-26-2004, 05:52 PM	#3
Fleet Mansions, limousines & H-ween Forum Star Join Date: Jan 06, 2002 Location: Northridge/Porter Ranch, California Posts: 15,625	Well, I guess we won't be hearing about the phony "global warming" theory for a while!
	__________________ 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Seventy-Five Limousine.

12-26-2004, 07:53 PM	#5
musicradio77 Disney Expert Forum Veteran Join Date: Jul 14, 2003 Location: Brooklyn, NY USA Posts: 6,475	Snow doesn't get it last night on Christmas day in New York City.

12-27-2004, 03:04 AM	#6
Hollow Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Dec 16, 2001 Posts: 30,406	good for them, it snows all year long here.