Rare snowfall in Florida was caught on video on Tuesday morning as a bitter winter storm caused temperatures to plunge across the region.
An arctic blast brought frigid temperatures, bone-chilling winds and heavy snow to much of the United States over the weekend and early this week. Some Florida residents woke up to light snowfall as temperatures dropped low enough to produce the flurries.
One resident caught the snow flurries falling past their security camera.
“*SNOW IN FLORIDA* this morning in the Panhandle with flurries and sleet from Pensacola to Milton. No accumulation, but hey, what a treat!” WINK News Chief Meteorologist Matthew Devitt posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday morning alongside the video.
National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologist Don Shepherd told Newsweek that winter precipitation in the Florida panhandle is “fairly uncommon” and might happen once every five to six years.
The snow has moved on, but cold weather persists in the area. The northern half of the state faced a slew of NWS winter weather warnings on Tuesday morning, including a hard freeze warning in the panhandle, a freeze warning in northern Florida and a wind chill advisory in central Florida.
“We are very cold,” Shepherd said, adding that it was only 19 degrees in Pensacola on Wednesday morning. “That’s pretty unusual. Even down on the beaches, it’s in the 20s right now.”
Wind chills dropped the temperatures in northern and northeastern Florida to 15 degrees, prompting the NWS to issue a warning about hypothermia. Slightly further south, wind chills of lower than 27 degrees were expected in Coastal Volusia County.
“The cold wind chills could result in hypothermia if precautions are not taken,” the NWS warning said. “Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves.”
The hard freeze warning prompted the NWS to suggest that Floridians in the northern part of the state take steps to protect crops, sensitive vegetation and outdoor plumbing systems, such as sprinklers.
During the cold snap, overnight temperatures in the Florida panhandle were 15 to 20 degrees below average for the time of year. Shepherd said the region warms up briefly overnight on Wednesday and on Thursday before temperatures plummet again on Friday and remain cold through the weekend with lows in the teens and 20s.
Getty
More than half of the U.S. is covered with snow from the slew of storms. Some areas, like Nashville, Tennessee, received more than an entire year’s worth of snowfall in one day.
The same system that brought low temperatures to Florida on Wednesday will also sweep across much of the nation. The storm will bring heavy mountain snow to the Rocky Mountains, along with ice storms in the Pacific Northwest. Heavy lake-effect snow will continue in the Great Lakes region, although snow will taper off in the northeast.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.