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Where History Lives: Rare St. Augustine ice storm slows down Oldest City in 1989

Jeanette Hannifin
·6 min read

Editor's Note: This article, originally titled "Ice strangles Oldest City," first ran in The Record on Dec. 24, 1989.

"If you don't have to go out, don't. "

These words of advice from Sgt. Buddy Tillman of the Florida Highway Patrol were echoed by all law enforcement and safety officials Saturday afternoon as St. Johns County was frozen to a standstill by icy roads and record-setting low temperatures.

The National Weather Service in Jacksonville was forecasting record-low wind chill factors for Saturday evening on the First Coast, ranging from zero to -20 degrees. The official low in St. Augustine Saturday at WFOY radio station was 21 degrees. The record temperature for Dec. 23 had been 26 degrees, set in 1983.

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From Sunday, Dec. 24, 1989 - Icy conditions forced city police to close the Bridge of Lions to vehicles shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, but pedestrians were allowed to cross on foot – and many did. To some, it was no hardship. Children used the “slope” for impromptu “shoe skiing,” braving the cold with glee.
From Sunday, Dec. 24, 1989 - Icy conditions forced city police to close the Bridge of Lions to vehicles shortly before 1 p.m. Saturday, but pedestrians were allowed to cross on foot – and many did. To some, it was no hardship. Children used the “slope” for impromptu “shoe skiing,” braving the cold with glee.

Unofficial readings saw temperatures drop 8 degrees within six hours Saturday, from 30 degrees at 10 a.m. to 22 degrees at 4 p.m.

A high in the mid-30s is predicted for Sunday with a low Sunday night in the mid-teens. Christmas Day's high temperature is expected to be in the mid-40s.

As of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, the following church services for Sunday had been canceled:

  • Memorial Presbyterian, morning services.

  • Grace United Methodist, morning services.

  • Trinity Episcopal Parish, all services.

  • St. Augustine Baptist, all services.

  • Ancient City Baptist, all services.

Ice storm ties up traffic

Icy road conditions are believed to be responsible for at least one traffic death Saturday.

One accident was reported in the southern end of the county on Interstate 95 near the U.S. 1 South interchange. However, no details were available from FHP or the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office at press time.

An FHP homicide investigator was dispatched to the accident scene, said FHP spokesman Chuck Burres.

The front page of the St. Augustine Record from Dec. 24, 1989.
The front page of the St. Augustine Record from Dec. 24, 1989.

There was no official count of the number of accidents on the county roads because there were more accidents than there were troopers and deputies available to handle them, Tillman said. However, FHP worked 18 accidents between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Burres said. Quite a few of those accidents involved injuries, he added.

“That's not counting another 25 handled by the sheriff's office,” Burres said.

“It is unbelievable,” Tillman said. "There have been countless wrecks. Some wreck and go home. Some say they don't care about having an accident report."

“We know it's the time to visit and party, but it's not worth it,” Tillman said. “If it's not a matter of life or death, stay home.”

St. Johns County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kevin Kelshaw confirmed the fatal accident at Interstate 95 and U.S. 1 South, but he had no further details. Kelshaw did say a car had flipped, but he had no further details.

“We've got about four accidents down there now,” Kelshaw said at 2:30 Saturday afternoon.

“They're going nuts on Interstate 95,” Kelshaw said

Every available deputy was called into work, with the night shift at work by 2 p.m. Saturday. There will be at least two shifts out at times, Kelshaw said.

St. Augustine bridges shut down

All bridges in the county, except the Vilano Bridge, will be temporarily closed due to icing, Tillman said.

"Vilano is still open, but it's hanging by a thread," he said.

“We never close, but it's still really icy,” Vilano bridgetender Terry Ulrich said around 5 p.m.

The Bridge of Lions reopened at about 4:20 Saturday afternoon, bridgetender Bob Jones said. “They threw sand on the bridge and the traffic is moving.”

The Bridge of Lions was closed at about 1 p.m. Saturday with motorists forced to either make a U-turn or to park their cars and walk across the bridge.

Kelshaw said county crews were throwing sand on State Road 206 bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway and at Moultrie Creek on U.S. 1 South. The Moultrie bridge had to be cleared before Interstate 95 could be closed since detoured traffic from the interstate would have to use U.S. 1 South, Kelshaw explained.

We are trying to get at least one bridge to the island open so people can get to the mainland, Kelshaw said referring to the State Road 206 bridge.

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Nurses spent the night at the hospital

In addition to forcing people to walk across the Bridge of Lions, closings affected the staffing at local hospitals, since many of the personnel live on Anastasia Island.

“Luckily, a lot of our help are from Palm Coast,” said Sarah Jokerst, nursing supervisor at St. Augustine General Hospital, "and some of our nurses who couldn't get home were willing to sleep over and help out."

Although Flagler Hospital had a few people who could not get to work because of the bridge closings, it was not a great big problem, nursing supervisor Addie Eloma said.

Jokerst said General’s emergency room was busy with expected automobile accident victims. She also said several cases of frostbite and hypothermia, or subnormal body temperature, were treated. These were mainly homeless people who were taken to the emergency shelters after they were treated and released.

St. Francis House has been full since Friday night, said Diane Lovell, kitchen manager at the homeless shelter. There are 16 beds for men and eight for women, but the shelter is also putting people up in the dining room, she said.

“I've never seen so many people cold in my life,” Lovell said. “We've given out every coat we have, except for ladies. We need men's coats desperately.”

Work crews from the City of St. Augustine were also throwing sand on area bridges in an effort to deice the spans.

City crews were kept busy, sanding the San Sebastian River Bridge on King Street and the Ponce de Leon Boulevard and the Bridge of Lions, said Jerry Porter. Porter, who works at the city's water treatment plant, was pressed into service Saturday afternoon, answering the utility and public works emergency telephone number and relaying calls to supervisors.

The county’s mainland water system had had pump trouble, creating low-pressure problems, leading that department to put a recorded message on the telephone into that office. Residents southwest of St. Augustine who were hooked up to Wildwood Water Company System were without water for 30 to 40 minutes Saturday afternoon when the electrical started to freeze, said company spokesman Pat Mills. Mills said no pipes froze or burst.

The icy weather also brought the closing of the Ponce DeLeon mall at 7 p.m. Stores are scheduled to open today for last minute shoppers, weather permitting.

This article originally appeared on St. Augustine Record: St. Augustine History: Ice storm slows down Oldest City in 1989