7 January 2005

A RARE SNOW STORM IN SOUTH TEXAS
 
Forrest M. Mims III
 
The Texas Gulf Coast experienced a very rare white Christmas as snow fell from Houston to the Mexican border beginning late on 24 December 2004. Snow covered Texas beaches and provided incredible views of palm trees emerging from snow drifts. 
 
The rare snow event occurred as moist air aloft flowed over frigid arctic air. The snow in Victoria was knee-deep in places. This photograph was taken just south of Victoria late on the afternoon of 26 December 2004, the day after the big snow event. Although the temperature was a relatively toasty 11 degrees C (52 degrees F) when the photo was made, considerable snow was still present. The camera was a 3.3 megapixel Nikon CoolPix 990 equipped with a fisheye lens set for a wide angle mode.