REMEMBER WHEN: Houston’s huge snow storm of 1960

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The two highest totals of snowfall in the history of Houston both occurred around Valentine’s Day, with the second highest coming in 1960.

On February 12, 1960, Houston got hit with 4.4 inches of snow. The storm, which rolled through Southeast Texas, dropped 11 inches of snow in Livingston and 6 inches of snow in Cleveland.

It was 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.

VIDEO: A snowman sits on the street where firefighters fight a blaze at a building at 2420 Center St.

This snowman was at the site of a warehouse fire on Center street.

Eyewitness News wasn’t there for the 1895 storm, but we were on hand for the storm of 1960. While TV stations didn’t have helicopters in those days, they would rent an airplane when there was a significant news event, and that’s what they did for this storm, 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 night, a huge fire broke out in the Texas Lamp and Oil Company building in downtown. Houston firefighters battled the roaring blaze during the storm.
Here’s a list of the top five snowfalls in Houston

20 inches on Feb. 14-15, 1895

4.4 inches on Feb. 12, 1960

3 inches on Jan. 22, 1940

2.6 inches on Jan. 30, 1949

2.5 inches on Dec. 21-22, 1929

If you have memories of the storm, please share them with us.