ABC13's Vault: Houston's huge snow storm of February 1960
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Winter storms aren't common in Houston, but they have happened.
On Feb. 12, 1960, Houston got hit with 4.4 inches of snow, which was something captured from the air by airplane, before the days of our trusty Skyeye helicopter.
Back then, television stations would rent an airplane when there was a significant news event, and that's what they did for this storm on Feb. 12, 1960, providing aerials of the blanket of snow around the Houston area.
The snow started falling in Houston in the morning and continued into the night. That evening, a huge fire broke out in the Texas Lamp and Oil Company building in downtown. Houston firefighters battled the roaring blaze during the storm.
VIDEO: A snowman sits on the street where firefighters fight a blaze at a building at 2420 Center St.
The storm, which rolled through southeast Texas, also dropped 11 inches of snow in Livingston and 6 inches of snow in Cleveland.
The 4.4 inches were the highest amount of snow in Houston since the record-setting storm of 1895, which dumped a whopping 20 inches of snow in Houston on Valentine's Day.
