Christmas is a winter wonderland
Bruse Poindexter and son Jase work on a snowman at 608 East Main Street on Christmas Day.
Hartselle residents awoke Saturday to the beauty of a white Christmas.
Not since 1989 had they witnessed snowflakes on Christmas Day and not since 1963 had enough of the white stuff fallen to make snow angels and snowmen.
Raindrops began turning into snowflakes as early as 5 a.m. and rooftops and lawns were covered by daylight. Heavy snow was still falling when most youngsters sprang out of their beds to see what gifts were under their Christmas trees. And, as expected, their attention was diverted to what was going on outside. Soon, many of them had abandoned the warmth of their homes and were outside playing in the snow, where building snow people was a priority.
The moisture-laden snowflakes proved to be ideal for compaction and before the day was out snow creatures had popped up on lawns through the city. They were short and tall, rotund and slim and plain and fancy. The one that captured a lot of second looks was a Cam Newtom look- alike built by the John Filiatrault family at 503 Moss Street. It was seven feet tall and had all of the markings of an Auburn Tiger, including a real football tucked under its arm.
Freezing temperatures on Saturday and Sunday prevented the snow from making a hasty departure. Some of it was still visible on rooftops and shaded areas on Tuesday.
Luckily, Most of the snow melted on roads and streets and they remained safe for travel.
“We had a six-man crew come in at 7 a.m. Saturday to operate truck-mounted sand spreaders,” said Hartselle Public Words Superintendent Byron Turney. They worked six hours getting sand on streets where icing usually occurs. Then, we came back Sunday and repeated the operation.”
Hartselle Police Department reported seven weekend traffic accidents and four incidents where motorist were assisted because of the weather.
The 1989 Christmas snow amounted to little more than a dusting and was gone by afternoon.
In 1963, three inches of sleet and snow was on the ground, following a Dec. 22 snow event. The icy mix was followed by three days of below freezing temperatures. Record lows of minus three degrees were recorded on Dec. 23 and 24.
