Weather Channel to deliver white Christmas in Florida Keys

It once snowed as far south as Sebring, Fla., in 1977, but there’s never been any flakes falling on the Florida Keys.

On Christmas Day, however, 6-year-old Michael Walker, a resident of the lower Keys, will wake up to snow, thanks to The Weather Channel.

Michael and his grandfather Howard Livingston are the winners of the network’s “Guaranteed White Christmas” contest.

Livingston, a Key West musician and songwriter, submitted the winning “why we want snow” video in a nationwide contest.

Livingston’s 60-second epic shows him at his sunny waterfront yard trying to make snow for Michael in a blender powered by a 1952 Johnson outboard motor. While that’s great for margaritas it doesn’t make good snow.

The Weather Channel and meteorologist Adam Berg will report live from the Keys on Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to capture the family’s reaction as their waterfront home transforms into a winter wonderland.

The Weather Channel is to orchestrate a massive man-made snowfall from shaved ice by Sturm’s Special Effects, a Wisconsin-based company that specializes in making snow which supposedly is “packable” — making it ideal for shaping snowmen and snowballs.

Other contest finalists include Phoebe Garcia of Spring Hill, Fla., who will receive a $100 gift card for the Weather.com store and DVDcollector’s editions of The Weather Channel programs.