It’s been 35 years since it snowed in Jacksonville. But that wasn’t the first time

As this week’s winter storm descends on Jacksonville and Northeast Florida, bringing with it the potential for icy roads and even sleet and snow, many people have been looking at 1989, the last time the area saw any real amount of snow.

But how about 90 years before that? That was 1899, when what became known as “the Great Arctic Outbreak” brought Jacksonville its biggest snowstorm in recorded history: 1.9 inches on Feb. 13.

Its effects were felt across the state, notes the Florida Climate Center at Florida State University: “Snow measured up to 3 inches deep in numerous Panhandle communities, and snow flurries were reported as far south as Fort Myers.”

The center says that since 1886, “there have been more than 80 months in which at least a trace of snow has been reported somewhere in the state.” But, of course, it snowed before that: “The first documented account of snow in Florida was reported in 1774.”

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Here are some other times it snowed in Jacksonville:

• December 23-24, 1989: Nearly 2 inches

• March 1, 1986: 0.5 inches

• March 2, 1980: About 0.25 inches

• February 12, 1973: Less than 1 inch

• February 13, 1958: 1.5 inches

Pre-Christmas snowstorm hits Jacksonville in 1989

The Dec. 23, 1989 snowstorm, which lives on in many people’s memories, was the last time the city saw any significant snow, even though that statement would cause snickers from anyone who lives up north.

But still, for Jacksonville it was a big deal: Almost two inches of snow, with ice, which caused canceled flights, closed bridges and roads and made national news.

“It’s a winter wonderland,” Mayor Tommy Hazouri said, looking at the bright side — a sentiment shared by many in the city, children and adults alike. At least for those who didn’t have to drive or fly.

Other times it snowed in Jacksonville

You don’t have to go too far back to find snow in Jacksonville. There were flurries reported in 2015, for example, while the Florida Climate Center says that in 2010, Jacksonville saw “a light dusting of snow” in January, as well as “a mix of snow and sleet” that December.

After the January cold spell, the Times-Union’s outdoors writer Jim Sutton wrote of frigid temperatures that caused a giant fish kill and hundreds of sea turtle rescues. At one point, there was even a thin sheet of ice on the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Valley.

“Records show that Jacksonville had 12 consecutive days of near- or sub-freezing weather, beginning Jan. 3 and ending Jan. 14,” he wrote. “Water temperatures here, according to charter captains out on the Intracoastal Waterway, dropped as low as 40 degrees — or lower.”

Snow in St. Augustine in 1951

St. Johns County took center stage in 1951 when St. Augustine got walloped by about two inches of snow that stuck around long enough for nuns to build a snowman and for kids to sled down the gentle slope at the old fort.

The St. Augustine Record’s Harvey Lopez summed it up nicely after the storm: “It was a weather novelty, of course, but the Real McCoy. For four hours, beginning on Friday night around 9:30 o’clock, the snow came fluttering down until St. Augustine and the countryside was transformed into a wonderland of gleaming white.

“At least 2 inches of snow fell during the odd wintery trick: it piled up in yards, on rooftops, covered automobiles and turned trees into a fairyland.”

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Snow in Jacksonville: 1989 freak snowstorm, 1899 ‘Arctic Outbreak’