Forecast: Flurries
Let it snow: League City family will get a white Christmas from The WeatherChannel
No matter how high the temperatures climb next Saturday, It's going to be white Christmas at the League City home of Ginny Henderson. The pastor's wife, physical therapist and mother of three won The Weather Channel's second annual "Guaranteed White Christmas" contest.
In addition to blanketing the yard with snow, TWC meteorologist Adam Berg and co-host Mary Cobb will broadcast live from the Henderson home from 8 a.m.- 1 p.m. Christmas morning, with such activities as ice skating (TWC is building a rink), tree decorating, sledding, hot chocolate stations, and an appearance by Santa.
Henderson beat out more than 500 contestants with a one-minute video showing her 8-year-old son, "Weatherman" Jack , predicting snow for southeast Texas as his siblings, "Hurricane" Sam, 5, and “Typhoon” Ruthie, 3, looked on. A panel of TWC judges singled out the video's uniqueness and creativity.
Ever since Hurricane Ike devastated the region two years ago, Jack has been fascinated by the weather and TWC meteorologist Jim Cantore. When Jack was recuperating from surgery for a tethered spinal cord last month, he watched the channel constantly. (The youngster also has a illness called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia that weakens the muscles in his legs.) When he saw news of the contest, which asked viewers to "convince us why we should come to your house for Christmas," he asked his mom if they could enter.
In the video, his brother and sister are asking for snow as he does his best weather forcecaster imitation. "We had fun doing it. From that point on, it's just been an adventure," Ginny said.
They sent in the video over Thanksgiving weekend and found out they were in the top 10 in early December and then the top three. They got a knock on their door Sunday, where they were told they winners, but they couldn't tell anyone until it was announced Friday.
The family wins a $15,000 cash prize, a $1,500 Sears shopping spree and a Tassimo Hot Beverage System. But the children are more excited about the prospects of building a snow man, experiencing a snowball fight and making a snow angel because they have never experienced snow. (The family was out of town earlier this year when snow flurries briefly blanketed the region.)