Franklin County residents woke up to a sight Saturday morning that hadn’t been seen in the area since 1963: a white Christmas.
Thanks to a low pressure system from the Gulf meeting a cold front from the north, snow blanketed Franklin County on Saturday and transformed the area into a literal winter wonderland for the Christmas holiday.
According to meteorologist Chelly Amin with the National Weather Service in Huntsville, Phil Campbell recorded four inches of snow over the weekend and Red Bay recorded three inches.
“This amount of snowfall is very uncharacteristic for the area,” Amin said. “On average, Franklin County receives 1.4 inches of snow for the whole winter season, so this was a rare event, especially on Christmas.”
Amin said the last time the area experienced a “true” White Christmas was in 1963 when 4.5 inches of snow fell during the holiday.
“Franklin County had a trace or dusting of snow on Christmas Day in 1989 and the area was hit with significant freezing rain and ice in 1998,” she said, “but other than that, since 1900 there are no other dates with recorded measurable snowfall on Christmas Day.”
Local resident Susan Goggans remembers the White Christmas in 1963. She was 12 years old at the time and said it was a Christmas she would never forget.
“From what I remember about that snowfall, it had already started to come down on Christmas Eve and my little brother, Pat, was so excited,” she said. “He kept saying that he would be able to see the tracks on the roof from Santa’s sleigh and see the reindeers’ hoof prints. He couldn’t wait to get up the next morning.”
Goggans said she and her older sister, Jan, decided to help Santa out and make sure the “tracks” would be visible for their little brother the next morning.
“When Pat woke up on Christmas, he only paused for a minute to look at his toys before rushing outside to see the “tracks” that had been conveniently left on the side of the roof and in the snow,” Goggans said while smiling. “He was so excited that he could see where Santa had been. The snow made it possible for us make that one of the most memorable Christmases for our family.”
Goggans said she could recall sledding that Christmas with neighborhood children and making snow cream with her mom.
“We used boxes from our Christmas presents to sled down the hill near our house,” she said. “Then we scraped the top layer of snow off our picnic table to make snow cream out of snow, vanilla, milk and sugar.
“The snow made Christmas a magical experience that year. The anticipation is just heightened when it snows and I’m glad that a whole new generation was able to experience that this Christmas.”
Goggans added that they received more snow back then than the area seems to receive now, so she knows the snowfall is exciting, even for adults.
East Franklin resident Carol Ann Hardy said her husband and her in-laws were probably more excited than anyone.
“We got finished with our Christmas presents and we were all outside by 7 a.m.,” she said. “We played in the snow with our kids, had snowball fights and had such a memorable time.
“I don’t know if it was because of the snow but this Christmas I felt more peaceful and content than I have ever felt. It was just almost perfect.”
Phil Campbell resident Veronica Stancil said her two boys couldn’t have been happier about the snow they woke up to on Christmas morning. Her boys are younger and aren’t used to seeing snow, especially not on Christmas Day.
“They dodged most of their Christmas presents and immediately wanted to go outside and play,” Stancil said. “Our family built four snowmen and our bloodhound pulled the boys around on a sled.
“My husband kept saying that this was one of the best Christmases we have had and it would be a special memory for our boys. We told them God had given them a better present than Santa ever could – the snow.”