It’s not too difficult to notice the slew of Christmas songs that associate a beautiful snowfall with the Christmas season. Even popular Christmas movies often portray a sheet of white covering the houses and cars on Christmas Day.
Although watching the snow slowly fall from the sky while all bundled up inside on Christmas Day is ideal for the holidays, trying to maneuver through traffic can be treacherous not to mention dangerous.
Continue reading to discover the top 3 worst snowstorms on Christmas Day.
A terrible ice storm hit Texarkana, Texas in 2000 leaving the city with no electricity as residents celebrated Christmas Day in the dark. The devasting storm stretched across northeast Texas, southwestern Arkansas, and southeastern Oklahoma causing a power outage over the next two days.
According to the National Weather Service, “Ice accumulations were estimated by observers to be as much as an inch in Southwest Arkansas.” The area was left without running water or telephones during certain points of the storm.
On Christmas morning in eastern New York and western New England in 2002, snow began to fall lightly leaving behind a thin white powder on the streets. As the day progressed, the storm gained momentum throughout the region. At the end of the day, Albany, NY had received over 24 inches of snow, most of which came during a 12 hour period.
Just one week later on New Year’s Day, another snowstorm attacked the same region leaving behind sheets of heavy ice. In fact, the ice was so thick, powerlines and trees collapsed to the ground causing up to 15,000 locals to lose power.
On Christmas Day in 2004, snow-covered palm trees were an unusual yet common site in South Texas. Areas such as Victoria and Corpus Christi received up to 12.5 inches over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Although local authorities preprepared for the snowstorm by posting service announcements days before, the heavy snowfall forced several roads to close.
However, closed roads and snow-laden streets didn’t keep residents from rushing to grocery stores to grab hot cocoa, food, and disposable cameras to capture the historic event. During this momentous Christmas holiday, all of South Texas became a part of the “paparazzi.”
