“It’s a winter wonderland in Jacksonville.”
On Dec. 23, 1989, a freak snowstorm dropped nearly 2 inches of snow across Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, bringing the city to halt just before Christmas.
In Jacksonville, a city without snowplows or salt for roads, streets and bridges began to ice over on Dec. 22, and by the next day, a Saturday, it started to snow , shutting down traffic on Jacksonville’s bridges, streets and highways.
Flights were canceled at Jacksonville International Airport. Buses were idled. Stores and churches closed. Even the delivery of Christmas cards was delayed. And in what could have been a scene right of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the Jacksonville Electric Authority even asked the city’s residents to turn off their Christmas lights, the Times-Union reported at the time.
For others, it was a “snow day,” a rare chance to go sledding, build a snowman or ice skate on the streets.
It was the largest snowstorm in history for the Southeastern U.S. Coast (the coastal Carolinas got more than foot in places), and records were broken all over. Even Miami got down to freezing by Christmas Eve.