Discover the Year Florida Had a White Christmas

You might think the idea that a White Christmas in Florida could be just a jingle-bell-type jest. Maybe it’s one of those Yuletide fantasies we see on TV. Only it’s something that happened.

December of 1989 was a Christmas to remember for many Floridians! Read on to learn about the year Florida had a white Christmas.

Even Florida, where many “snowbirds” go to flee from the hardships of wintry weather, is subject to occasional “freezes.” And those can be intense enough to endanger the cold-sensitive citrus crops that grow there in the winter months. But 34 years ago, many Floridians got more than a freeze!

A Wintry Welcome to Florida

A freak wave of Arctic air hit the Sunshine State in late December 1989. In addition to being off the charts temperature-wise, a powerful coastal storm accompanied it. That brought record snowfalls to places that seldom see much wintry white stuff. For example, Wilmington, North Carolina, on Cape Fear, was buried under 15.3 inches.

And while the system produced somewhat lesser amounts as it moved farther south in places like Charleston and Savannah, it didn’t exactly stop when it reached the signs reading “Welcome to Florida.”

The result was that Jacksonville received the first and only white Christmas it had ever experienced. On average, about an inch of snow fell there from Dec. 22-23. And it remained on the ground through Santa’s visit before it began to melt the following day.

But some parts of the city were reported to have gotten 2.5 inches, with temperatures well below freezing.

 Other locales in the state’s northern tier, including the capital city of Tallahassee, also had measurable snowfalls. The Lake City area, just west of Jacksonville, received anywhere from three to six inches.

Sledding in Jacksonville

While such measurements would hardly have caused a stir in places like Buffalo, they surprised the people living in north Florida. Many soon got into the spirit of the occasion. One account has people sledding down Jacksonville’s Dames Point Bridge.

At the studio of Tallahassee’s WCTV, former anchor Frank Ranicky was videotaped having a snowball fight in the parking lot with other staff members. As he described, “You spontaneously turn into a kid and — what do you want to do? You want to hit somebody with a snowball.”

Not that it was a happy experience for everyone. Snow-slicked roads and drivers unused to dealing with such conditions resulted in no small number of minor accidents.

But even some Floridians who lived a considerable distance down the peninsula got a taste of that Christmas “frosting.” A belt of snow showers and flurries extended to the southwestern part of the state. For example, Sarasota, on the Gulf Coast below Tampa Bay, was reported to have picked up a dusting.

Temperatures dropped throughout the state due to the Arctic blast. High Springs, in Alachua County, dropped to 8 degrees Fahrenheit. At the Southeastern end of the state, Miami saw temperatures as low as 30 degrees.

Snow and Spanish Moss

In today’s high-tech world, a rare weather event of this nature would be all over the internet in no time. But three decades ago, when cell phones had not yet become standard equipment, far fewer people could casually capture such moments for posterity.

Those who did capture the event used movie cameras. The results can still be seen online in low-resolution videos accompanying nostalgic reminiscences posted by various media. One, for example, depicts a child running out his front door in what appears to be his pajamas to make snowballs and toss them toward the camera gleefully. In a subsequent sequence, a woman who may be his mother scoops snow off a truck and turns it into a miniature snowman — the “real thing” standing before the tinsel-tinted outdoor décor.  

The surreal quality of those scenes is accentuated by the palm fronds, palmettos, and Spanish moss that contrasts with the white roofs and lawns. But the thing that mainly makes them still glow across the years is the glee of the kids shown in those videos. You know they will never forget the magic of what, for many, was the first snowy day — let alone a white Christmas — they had ever experienced.