Possum Riley’s White Christmas
File this one under “Christmas Miracles”.
It was, maybe, five days before Christmas in 1969 and I was doing middays on 1340/WKGN. Newsman Alan Pressley handed me a new weather forecast from the wire. I scanned the forecast and the extended outlook and said, “This can’t be right. There’s no snow on Christmas.”
I called the National Weather Service and connected with a forecaster, who was really good about being teased, and put him on the air. I castigated him for the outlook, saying we needed a white Christmas. He said it would be cold enough, but there wouldn’t be enough moisture. I did “snow dances” in the control room, I played a tight medley of snow songs, I talked up how we were going to have a white Christmas because we were going to will it into being.
On December 23, the forecaster called me, saying there was a slightly improved chance of a little precipitation, but don’t count on it - maybe 10 percent.
The young woman I was dating said her parents would like for both of us to come to their house for a Christmas Eve dinner and stay overnight. I accepted. Light was just creeping into the guest room when I was awakened by Janie’s younger brother, who was shouting, “Possum, you did it!” He opened the drapes and big, feathery flakes were falling. Think the NWS forecaster and I didn’t have a great time on the air during my next show? I checked the NWS climate records today. That 7” snowfall still ranks as Knoxville’s most snow on Christmas Day.
I’m sure glad those powerful listeners were hangin’ with the Possum.