HOUSTON – Tuesday’s snowstorm in Houston was definitely a rare event.
While not completely unprecedented, what the area saw yesterday with the amount of snow was likely one that will make it into the record books.
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Tuesday, the parking lot of the KPRC 2 studios in Southwest Houston was covered in snow and made for a beautiful photo.
We dug through our archives looking for any other events like this in the station’s history. We found something quite interesting from a past time, back when KPRC 2 wasn’t even a television station. The name existed, but it was in a different form.
KPRC 2 and past snowfall
Prior to 1949, KPRC existed as a radio station. Owned by William P. Hobby and the Hobby family, it came online in 1925. It was affiliated with the Post-Dispatch, of which William P. Hobby was the president and publisher.
In 1949, KPRC launched as KLEE-TV. However, it was quickly purchased by the Hobby family, who changed the call letters to KPRC in 1950.
Looking through our archives, we found a photo from 1929 of KPRC’s transmitter building in Sugar Land. The building was located at the intersection of Hwy 90A and Eldridge Road. Until the 1970s, Eldridge Road was called KPRC Road.
Remarkably, you can see snow covering the ground in the photo. While we do not have an exact date on this photo from 1929, looking at almanac data, the Houston area saw between 2-3 inches of snow on Dec. 21-22. This leads us to believe this photo was taken during the same time frame as that snow event.
The snowfall Tuesday
On Tuesday, parts of the Houston area saw between 2-4 inches of snowfall.
For us at the KPRC 2 studios, this blanketed the parking lot with snow. Cars were covered with it, and this lasted until the afternoon when the sun came out and some of it melted.
Even Wednesday, there are remnants of snow in the parking lot, although that will soon be gone now that we are back to temperatures above freezing.
Snow is definitely a magical experience and to get it in Houston, especially on this level, is quite rare.
While we definitely encourage safety, we have also very much enjoyed seeing how everyone has had fun and taken in this weather.
Thank you for trusting us through this event. We are honored to be able to serve you and give you the information you need to know!