The science behind why Florida has seen more snow than Alaska this winter

Right on cue, when there’s talk about snow in Florida, social media is a buzz And probably with good reason. But not even the most seasoned Floridians anticipated the magnitude of the epic snow storm that shattered Florida’s snow records last week. And currently, Florida is outpacing parts of Alaska and Canada for snow events this winter.

If you’re keeping score, here is an overview of the totals:

According to the National Weather Service, Milton, which is northeast of Pensacola – got a whopping 9.80" of snow.

That's more than double the previous state record of 4 inches, which was also in Milton, back in 1954.

This week’s snow storm also blanketed Tallahassee and the Big Bend region, then moved east all the way to Jacksonville, where freezing rain, sleet and a few snow flurries were reported in the area. Even the Emerald Coast got snow, with 2–3 inches reported in areas like Destin and Panama City Beach.

Given that Florida isn’t used to this type of winter weather, just about all infrastructure was shut down on Tuesday and Wednesday across the Panhandle and north Florida. All international and regional airports were also closed. And a nearly 70-mile stretch of I-10 was shut down as well.

Although north Florida and the Panhandle get their fair share of sub freezing weather, the elements in place to readily produce snow just doesn’t happen that often in the Sunshine State.

The last time any appreciable snow fell in Florida was on Jan. 28th 2014, when there was one inch of snow in Pensacola. Tallahassee got a light dusting of snow in January 2018. The last time measurable snow fell in Jacksonville was during the Christmas week snowstorm of 1989 when nearly 2 inches of snow fell.

Photo via Bruce Lipsky/Florida Times-Union

Over the last several years, some ice and snow events have hit as far south as central Florida. In late January 2007, an ice storm glazed many surfaces and shut down roads in the Florida Panhandle. This was the third winter storm in five years that affected the Tallahassee area. A mixture of snow, sleet, and freezing rain coated elevated surfaces from Palm Bay to Kissimmee, Florida as well.

So what happened this week? And why has Florida seen more snow than parts of Alaska so far this winter?

There was a unique setup across the Gulf coast states in which very cold air was being forced south into the Gulf, while warm, moist air was being propelled above it by a stalled front and weak low pressure over the Gulf of Mexico.

Photo via The AccuWeather Network

The polar jet stream was positioned over the Gulf Coast states, which was thousands of miles south of its normal location. The polar jet was displaced by the Polar Vortex which is typically in northern Canada. The position of the jet stream over the Gulf helped to activate a stalled front, which also initiated a low pressure center to develop (and its moisture) while all the cold air was being forced south. The result is what is called “overrunning,” where the warm air is forced north by low pressure, and because it is lighter (and cold air is heavier/denser), the warm air “overruns” the cold air at the surface.

The lifting of the warm, moist air creates clouds and precipitation. Since it was cold enough for snow, that is what Florida got, in spades. The snow was heavier than usual because of the very warm water in the western-central Gulf. In this GIF, you can see all of the snow on the ground from Texas to the Carolinas, a very rare occurrence for this part of the country.

History:

Florida has seen snow more than 80 times since 1886. Other than this week, the last time snow was recorded in Florida was more than 10 years ago, on Jan. 28, 2014, when there was 1.00” of snow in Pensacola.

Photo via Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com

Significant snow in Florida since 1950, from the Florida Climate Center:

• February 2, 1951:  2.00” in St. Augustine and Crescent City 
• March 6, 1954: 4.00” at the Milton Experimental Station
• February 13, 1958:  1.50” in Jacksonville, and 2.80” in Tallahassee.
• February 9-10, 1973: 1.80” in Pensacola on the 9th and 0.4”  in Tallahassee on the 10th. 
• January 17-19, 1977: Areas along I-4 (Tampa/Orlando) reported 1.00-2.00”
• December 23, 1989: “Rain changed to snow in Jacksonville, and totals of several inches were reported in some locations; the city had its first White Christmas.”
• March 12, 1993: “The '93 Superstorm produced up to 4.00” of snow along the Florida Panhandle.”

Photo via The News Herald

• November 21, 2006: A dusting of snow fell over portions of central Florida, the first November snow in the state since 1912.
• January 8-9, 2010: A light dusting of snow was seen in Jacksonville. Light snow fell in parts of central Florida with sleet/snow reported in Orlando, Tampa, and Melbourne. Flurries were reported in West Palm Beach and Kendall
• December 26, 2010: A mix of snow and sleet was reported in Jacksonville, with a freezing fog event around midnight. Tallahassee, Gainesville, and other locations in the northern peninsula reported flurries during the day

The first documented snow in Florida was in 1774, according to the Florida Climate Center. On January 19th, 1977, snow fell in South Florida for the first time in recorded history.

Floridians were both surprised and thrilled at the rare phenomena. News of President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration was pushed out of the headlines that day. Snow was seen across all of Southeast Florida as far south as Homestead and even on Miami Beach.