Record snowfall in northern Florida surprised and delighted residents Tuesday after a rare winter storm flared up through the Gulf Coast.
Incredible images appeared as the snow gathered on the beach, piled up palm trees, clustered along the roads and allowed to pass.
Sun-soaked Florida and other parts of the South may have shattered snowfall records in what many are calling a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness sandy snowscapes on beaches everywhere There is.
The rare winter storm closed highways, schools and airports on Tuesday and Wednesday. About 34,000 people in north Florida were without power Wednesday morning, according to the Gainesville Sun.
A whopping 9.8 inches of snow fell near the small town of Milton in Santa Rosa County.
“This is an incredible, unbelievable event,” said Michael Mugrage, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Mobile, Ala. Many of the highest snowfall totals from the region have been reported. It was done.
“That puts into perspective how unusual this is.”
Snow totals near Milton are unofficial for now and will be reviewed by the state climate office.
Milton is just northeast of Pensacola, and the official total of 7.6 inches recorded at the airport shattered the city’s previous snow record of 3 inches set in 1895.
The Tampa Bay area woke up to bitter wind chill Wednesday, but temperatures remained well above freezing. The Weather Service’s Tampa Bay Office expects frigid temperatures to continue through the week. Friday could be the coldest day with temperatures potentially dropping to near freezing in parts of the region.
Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties announced they will open cold night shelters on Wednesday. In Pinellas and Hillsborough, shelters will remain open through Friday. In Pasco, the county shelter at Shady Hills Mission Chapel will remain open through Sunday.
Temperatures will start to warm up on Saturday when highs in Tampa are expected to reach around 60. Highs on Sunday are expected to rise into the 70s.
![Homes covered in snow in neighborhoods where up to 6 inches accumulated in Pensacola on Tuesday.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 620 413"/%3E "Homes covered in snow in neighborhoods where up to 6 inches accumulated in Pensacola on Tuesday.")
A major winter storm moved east Wednesday, spreading heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and the Eastern Carolinas. The part that hits the Deep South came as a blast of arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and eastern United States into a deep freeze.
Jacksonville International Airport was closed due to the weather Tuesday evening, but reopened by noon Wednesday.
“Unaccustomed winter weather is expected in Northeast Florida,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. “The safest place you can be on Tuesday night and Wednesday is at home!”
More than 2,300 flights to or from the United States were canceled Tuesday, according to online tracker flightaware.com. As of Wednesday afternoon, 27 flights were canceled and nearly 100 were delayed at Tampa International Airport.
Snow canceled school for more than 1 million students who are more accustomed to hurricane dismissals than snow days. University campuses in Florida were closed Wednesday, including the University of Florida, Florida State University and Florida A&M University.
“Believe it or not, the state of Florida is mobilizing snow plows,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said.
Ahead of the storm, the governors of Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida declared states of emergency.
In Florida and across the county, people made the most of the unusual weather. From snowball fights on the beaches of the Gulf Coast, to sledding in laundry baskets in Montgomery, Alabama, to pool tubing down the hills of Houston.
It’s been more than a decade since snow last fell in New Orleans. Tuesday’s rare snowfall set a record in the city, where 10 inches fell in some locations, surpassing the previous record of 2.7 inches set on Dec. 31, 1963.
“Wow, what a snowy day!” the weather agency said in a social media post. “It’s safe to say this was a historic snowfall for much of the region.”
Snow fell in Houston, prompting the first snowstorm warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border. Snow covered white sand beaches in normally sunny vacation spots such as Gulf Shores, Alabama and Pensacola Beach.
Two people have died in the Texas capital due to the cold weather, according to a statement from the city of Austin. No details were provided, but the city said emergency crews responded to more than a dozen “cold exposure” calls.
A storm system that brought so much snow set thermometers in record territory in the Deep South. Wednesday morning was warm in Anchorage, Alaska, warmer than Charlotte, New Orleans, North Carolina and Jacksonville.
In Alabama, the city of Mobile’s 6-degree low tied for the third-lowest temperature on record, set in 1899, the weather service said. In Louisiana, all-time records for low temperatures were set in the cities of New Iberia and Lafayette, forecasters said. Wednesday’s second in New Iberia broke records dating back to 1962. Lafayette’s fourth time broke a record dating back to 1899.
Officials said one person died from hypothermia in Georgia.
A state of emergency has also been declared in at least 12 New York counties, where up to 2 feet of lake-effect snow and extreme cold are expected around Lakes Ontario and Erie by Wednesday.
Times staff writers Michaela Mulligan and Jack Preter contributed to this report.
