Still Waters: The Freezing of a River and its Lasting Impact

 The waters of the Red River, normally free flowing, came to a halt in December 1983, and 40 years later, this event is still a source of wonder and awe. Few times in local history have cold temperatures made their presence known on such a grand scale or created such a stunning display.

As residents prepared for Christmas in ’83, the weather gave no hint of what was to come. According to author and National Weather Service observer Billy Andrews, conditions were nothing out of the ordinary. “The first ten days of the month were typical of December weather ... ranging from above to slightly below normal on temperatures,” he writes in his book “Outstanding Weather Phenomena in the ARK-LA-TEX.” “Most of us would not remember that the high temperature on December 9th was 72 degrees.” Those mild temps would not last.

Bone-chilling arctic winds began blowing south from Canada and reached our area on December 16th, dumping nearly six inches of snow, according to Andrews. By the 21st, the daytime high never got above freezing. This unrelenting cold set the stage for a spectacle that hadn’t been seen here in nearly a century.

With temperatures plunging to new lows seemingly every day, chunks of ice began appearing in the Red River, amassing along both banks. As this buildup grew, open water slowly vanished. Helped by a record low of six degrees on Christmas Day, nature worked its magic; the mighty Red was stilled, its waters frozen. Like a vanquished foe, the river lay silent and motionless.

The curious braved the elements to witness this once-in-a generation occurrence, professional photographer Roger Braniff, Sr. among them. With camera in hand, he ventured out with members of his family. “We just decided to drive around to see what we could see,” he said. “We drove down to the river and were surprised by what we found.” The amazing photos he took are priceless, capturing the Red at its most unrecognizable. Braniff admitted being somewhat concerned watching people walk out onto the ice. “I didn’t know how thick it was and thought they could fall through,” he said.

In his book, Andrews states that from December 21st through the 27th, the area endured 138 straight hours of temperatures at or below freezing. “The extended period of very cold weather the latter half of the month … resulted in the coldest December of record,” he writes. “The magnitude of the ice jam ... probably has not occurred since February 1895.” Conditions during that 19th century winter were very similar to conditions in 1983, according to his book, with temperatures of 32 degrees or below lasting 168 consecutive hours.

Despite the passage of 40 years, the events of December ‘83 still play a role in Braniff’s life. After storing his images decades ago, he decided to post them to his Facebook page where they were noticed and shared by Mike and Mark Mangham of Twin Blends: Northwest Louisiana History Hunters and garnered lots of likes and comments. Then came my phone call with questions for this article. The attention has been unexpected. “I’ve been amazed, actually,” Braniff said. “I had the photos filed away for 35 years.” Their coming to light again demonstrates that sometimes life’s unexpected moments can have the most lasting impact.

If you have any photos or other information relating to unusual weather phenomena in Bossier Parish, the History Center may be interested in adding the materials to its research collection by donation or by scanning them and returning the originals. Call or visit us to learn more. We are open M-Th 9-8, Fri 9-6, and Sat 9-5. Our phone number is (318) 746-7717 and our email is history-center@bossierlibrary.org. We can also be found online at https://www.facebook.com/BPLHistoryCenter/ and http://bpl-hc.blogspot.com/

Images: 

• Both photos are courtesy of Roger Braniff Sr. Photography.  
• The image shows a headline in the Bossier Tribune from December 30, 1983.

Article by: Kevin Flowers