CHRIS MOORE — Let it snow, please; our part of Jefferson County deserves it
Published 12:05 am Wednesday, January 13, 2021
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There is not much that seems to unify the masses these days, but all of Southeast Texas experienced a mutual feeling of envy as friends, family, acquaintances and news outlets flooded our respective social media timelines with images that appeared to be taken from within a snow globe, each photo more picturesque and taunting than the one before.
First came the photo out of Dallas, then Fredericksburg and Austin, then Jasper and Woodville. The Winter Wonderland was a reality for everyone that didn’t live 30 minutes from the beach. It is believed we get snow following a hurricane or significant rain event.
We got it in 2008 after Hurricane Ike. We got snow in 2017 after Hurricane Harvey. It was a sweet relief after a tumultuous catastrophe, almost like the rainbow after the Biblical flood. In both instances, areas of Southeast Texas saw as much as 4 inches of snow, making for some of the most beautiful photos that many still cherish to this day.
This time, we all looked at everyone else’s white rainbow through the screens on our phone with a rage hot enough to melt little Susie’s snowman.
Do we still make Susies? You get the point.
After 2020, we deserved snow, too. Yes, everyone went through 2020, but we in Port Arthur and Mid-County did it with two hurricanes. The Southern part of Louisiana deserves it, too, since they had to start calling hurricanes names from off the bench. Yes, the junior varsity hurricanes were slamming our neighbors.
With the way our luck is going, we seem to be more likely to get another crippling freeze like we had in the 1990s than snow. Yes, the freeze, which came with all of the same world-stalling impact, as we Southeast Texans are not equipped to handle frozen tundra, and none of the pleasing aesthetics.
Since the 2017 snow, we have had another record-breaking rain event in Tropical Depression Imelda, and two Hurricanes, a plant explosion and a global pandemic. The latter was not exclusive to our area, but we still put up with it.
Not that I should be getting too picky, but if we could have it on a late Friday night into a Saturday morning, that would be great. We don’t need enough to barricade everyone in their homes. Just a few inches to cover the landscape, make snowmen and have a good ole snowball fight.
The only white powdery substance Southeast Texas has seen in the last three years has come by way of police department press releases, featuring artillery and stacks of cash.
There is still time. We have had plenty of late cold fronts come through and give us the temperatures necessary.
So, I am making a humble plea to God, Zeus, Jack Frost, The Abominable Snowman — whoever, let us have snow, please.
Chris Moore is the sports editor for Port Arthur Newsmedia. He can be reached at chris.moore@panews.com.