Snow in Houston

This article tells about Snow in Houston - and how we go crazy here when it snows.

Since 1895, it has snowed 34 times in Houston. As of 2008, it had never snowed two years in a row.

But that string was broken when it snowed both in 2008 (lovingly called "The Blizzard of 2008") and 2009.

Here is a photo of my daughter Kim on December, 2008. We had some snow on a bar-b-que grill. She is holding a candy cane from Starbucks that has a small stuffed snowman on it.

So here's what usually happens when there's snow in Houston. Usually, the snow lasts for less than 24 hours. Often, the snow melts as it hits the ground.

If we're lucky, the snow won't melt on top of cars and picnic tables. Local kids grab all the snow they can and try to make a snowball or even a snowman.

Most people use their bare hands to play in the snow. Some put socks on their hands and a few even dig up some mittens and wear a jacket.

It's not just the kids either. Since we may go several years before we have a snow that stays on the ground for a few hours, adults go out and play, too.

Keep in mind that I'm just talking about coastal Houston. We have a milder climate than Dallas and West Texas, where it snows all the time.

On December 24, 2004 it snowed not only in Houston but all down the coast of Texas. This was the first "White Christmas" for Houston and the southern coastal southern parts of the state. I mean never in recorded history going back into the 1800s had there been a "White Christmas" in Houston before 2004.

In Corpus Christi Texas, they had even more snow than in Houston.  They published a book of local snow pictures called Snow, a South Texas Christmas Miracle 2004. Here is the Texas Snowbook site.

On Christmas eve 2004, it even snowed down at the southern tip of Texas by South Padre Island, where it hadn't snowed at any time since 1889.

A lot of the local people there had never seen snow before. It was an amazing experience.

The snow on Christmas eve was so unusual, there is a Wikipedia entry on it, called 2004 Christmas Eve Snowstorm.

If you are lucky enough to see snow in Houston (that doesn't melt when it hits the ground) you will probably see snow on unusual plants.

You can see snow on palm trees, banana trees, orange and grapefruit trees, and even spiky cactus.

My Dad in Corpus Christi, Texas made a frame of PVC pipes and covered the orange and grapefruit trees in his yard whenever there was a freeze.

Here are some photos of plants in Houston covered in snow.

So what do Houston people do when it snows?

We scrape all the snow we can find off of cars and tables and make a snowball or even a snowman.

Often you will see a snowman sitting on grass with very little snow around anywhere, like the ones in these pictures.

Or sometimes there is a lot (for us) of snow, as in the "blizzard of 2008".

The picture of Kim at the top of this article was taken in our 2008 snowstorm. It snowed a few inches and may have stayed at below freezing for most of the night.

Everyone goes out and takes pictures of their snowmen to save as a family memory.

I can't think of much else to say, but I'm trying to get the text to line up with the picture.

Yes, it has snowed 34 times in Houston in recorded history. Nine times in December, twelve times in January, twelve times in February, and once in March. And with snowfalls in 2008 and 2009, it has finally snowed two years in a row!