Welcome to the world, baby Winter, born amid a snowstorm in Lake Arrowhead

Amid an unwelcome snowstorm, one Southern California family got a welcome bundle.

With a blizzard as a backdrop, a Lake Arrowhead couple reportedly experienced some frightening moments as they fought to get to a hospital for the birth of their second child — a girl whose name is, fittingly, Winter.

When Brady Wade, who lives in the unincorporated community in the San Bernardino Mountains, arrived home from work Feb. 23, driving along roads with 3 to 4 feet of snow, his wife, Crystal, told him she was having contractions. He immediately began to load their truck with supplies to take to the hospital, 50 miles away in Fontana. But because the horrific weather had blocked roads, the truck wasn’t parked close to the home. Wade’s trips to the car were costing them time.

Wade recounted the ordeal in an interview with OnScene TV.

Upon hearing of Wade’s panic, a friend ran through the snow to his home, helping him to finish loading and promising to take care of the couple’s 4-year-old son while they began the harrowing trek down the mountains.

“The road conditions were very difficult,� Wade recalled, as he tried to maneuver through crosswinds, surrounded by icy powder.

He plowed on, as the contractions came “closer and closer.�

The pair finally pulled up to their destination, where the doctor informed Wade that if they’d been just a few minutes later, the baby would have been born along the snowy route.

Wade, a Lake Arrowhead resident for five years, said he had “never seen anything close to this. I have neighbors who’ve been here for 30 years. They said they haven’t seen anything like this since, I think it was the ’76, ’79 storms. This is biblical. Seriously, it’s unmanageable at this point. We’re lucky to be safe and secure.�

Still, they faced more hurdles before their ordeal was done.

In an interview with NBC, Wade said that when they headed home from the hospital the next day, they found that the storm had forced authorities to shut down major roads. By chance, he got a resident permit to head up the mountain, only to see that the streets had not been cleared for at least six blocks leading to his house.

After retrieving their son from their friends’ home, the Wades had to be practical. They wrapped Winter under Crystal’s coat and, with Brady holding his son, trekked through snow to return home.