A rare white Christmas

HAVELOCK — Bryan Sibley woke up the morning of Christmas Eve, 1989, with one thought.

“I remember the first thing I thought was ‘I ain’t going nowhere,’ ” he said.

It wasn’t holiday traffic keeping him inside. It was 17 inches of snow on the ground.

“‘Man,’ I said, ‘we got to get some pictures of this,’” Sibley said. “We might not ever see this again.”

We haven’t, and for those living in the Havelock area in 1989, they had never seen it before — a white Christmas.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Christmas snowstorm of 1989. Record-keeping for the area is incomplete, but at the time, most believed it to be the area’s first white Christmas in more than 100 years. For many towns, it is the only white Christmas in recorded history.

Locals had never seen a white Christmas before, and it was a dream of many to have one. However, the three-day storm had many second-guessing what they had wished for.

The coastal storm dumped 17 inches of snow on the area, stranding many in their homes. Those who had plans for Christmas dinner with family or friends had to change them.

For others, the snow even delayed Santa’s arrival. Finishing last-minute Christmas shopping — or picking up purchased presents hidden at a family member’s house across town — proved impossible.

The storm began to develop off the coast of Florida on Dec. 22 and moved up the East Coast.

But instead of hugging the coast like most nor’easters, the storm remained far enough off the coast that cold air filtered into the region. Snow began to fall on Dec. 23, becoming heavy later in the day and overnight into Dec. 24.

Residents awoke Christmas Eve with a foot of snow on the ground, and more was still falling.

John Cole, with the National Weather Service office in Newport, called the weather situation perfect for the creation of a winter storm.

“The system was far enough off the coast, and the cold air was in place,” Cole said. “One thing about it was that it was intensifying. It was 100 miles off shore, the cold air was in place, and it was intensifying, and that’s the scenario for snowstorms in this area.”

From Goldsboro east, from the Virginia border to South Carolina, the area was covered in white. The heaviest snow stretched from just west of Wilmington, where 20 inches fell, through Onslow County and into Craven and Carteret counties, where storm totals routinely hit 16 or 17 inches.

New Bern totaled 13 inches of snow. Kinston had eight.

Strong winds blew the snow into drifts four to five feet high, and in some places higher, such as at the old Mallory’s Furniture Store in Havelock.

“The wind blew so hard that snow was drifted all the way to the top of the building,” said Eddie Ellis, then the publisher of the Havelock News and currently a developer and Havelock’s historian.

Ellis said he was fortunate to have a four-wheel drive vehicle, but even that was no guarantee against the forces of the storm.

“At Plantation Harbor off Adams Creek Road, the snow was as deep as the hood of my Chevy Blazer,” Ellis said. “I was plowing snow. When the car began to ride up on top of the snow, my brain kicked in, and I reversed out of there.”

Despite the strong storm, power remained on for the most part. Some experienced frozen water pipes with temperatures that remained below the freezing mark of 32 degrees for four days. The lowest temperature ever recorded in New Bern happened on that Christmas morning, 4 degrees below zero.

The Neuse River froze from New Bern through the Havelock area.

“The river is very shallow for a long way out, so I knew there was little danger in walking on the ice,” Ellis said. “I took a hatchet out about 200 feet from shore and whacked away at it until I determined it was frozen seven or eight inches thick.

“The bird rescue shelter in Morehead City told us they were slammed with injured pelicans who could see fish through the ice and knocked themselves silly trying to dive for food.”

But for children, any snow provides an opportunity to play. The dry powder wasn’t great for snowballs and snowmen, but was entertaining in other ways.

Some dug tunnels, and some tried sledding. Others on the more wild side slid from rooftops into five-foot drifts.

For many, there were places to go, and no way to get there as most roads remained impassable through Christmas Day.

Shirley Kelly said her family was planning a Christmas night party with friends and neighbors. A refrigerator full of food was ready to greet the guests.

“Instead, there was just the three of us,” she said of herself, her husband Tom and son Tim.

Families spent the time bonding over board games.

“We did a 1,500-piece puzzle that year,” said Lyn Montayne. “We couldn’t go anywhere.”

Eventually, the limited number of snow plows in the area managed to clear the streets. Residents emerged and finished their Christmas activities, though a couple of days after the official Dec. 25 holiday.

The snow melted away, leaving behind memories and stories to be passed down for generations.

“My grandmother was born in 1905,” Ellis said. “She told me, good-naturedly, after the storm: ‘I have wished for a white Christmas my entire life. After this week, I don’t ever want to see another one.’ ”