Winter Wonderland, Part 1

There was a time when I enjoyed snow. Of course, that was before I became a broadcast meteorologist. Big snow storms lead to long work hours for meteorologists (especially around Christmas, when family time at home is precious). Even more frustrating is the complexity of snow forecasting in the Carolinas. It takes a rare set of ingredients to get big snows this far south, so pinpointing the details can be amazingly
difficult. And folks rely heavily on the accuracy of those forecast
details -- especially in the month of December.

Still, long ago, I really did enjoy snow. I was very young when the first few flakes of snow started falling Christmas week in 1989. Little did I know that I was about to experience a once in a lifetime event. After all, the '89 snow was the largest in the recorded history of southeastern NC. And it wasn't just the snow that set records. All-time low temperatures were set as far south as Florida. It was a time of headaches for Christmas retailers and joy for snow-lovers. And for a kid like me, it was a pure delight.

The '89 storm brought a fairly "clean" snow to much of the Eastern Carolinas. There wasn't a great deal of ice accumulation on power lines, so my family had the benefit of heat and electricity (especially nice at night, when the temperature fell below 0 in some areas).

I grew up on a farm, so we had no shortage of tractors, trailers, and sleds. I can still see my dad, bundled under four layers of work clothes, hitching up our snow sleds to the back of the tractor and pulling us through the fields. I even remember our rather "unique" snowman (the one with the nose that Mom fashioned out of birthday cake decorations).

Every time December rolls around, I can't help but feel a little nostalgic about the '89 snow. And I've found that a lot of area residents do the same. This year, I've decided to take a special look back at the event. If your family took any photos during the '89 snow, please email them to jjackson@wwaytv3.com I'll try to get as many as I can on television starting the week of December 18th on Good Morning Carolina (5-7 AM, Mon-Fri {WWAY}).

We'll also be examining the '89 snow from a meteorological perspective -- how it formed, the records set, and the impact (positive and negative) on local residents.