Florida beats Alaska seasonal snow after Gulf Coast snowstorm
A snowstorm for the record books covered Houston, New Orleans and many other towns and cities across the southern U.S. on Tuesday, breaking snowfall records that have stood for over 100 years. At least 11 people have died.
From Alabama to Florida to North Carolina, beaches that come to mind when you think of summer were transformed into winter wonderlands from Jan. 21-22.
A snowstorm of historic proportions walloped the Gulf Coast this week, delivering travel-snarling snow from Texas to the Carolinas and breaking records that have stood for more than a century.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for a lot of these folks down there," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tom Kines said.
As a result of this storm, some popular snowy destinations and typically warm cities have been swapped. With 9 inches from this week's storm, Lafayette, Louisiana, is beating Chicago's snowfall for meteorological winter so far at 8.9 inches.
The snow accumulation at Pensacola (8.9 inches), New Orleans (8 inches) & Mobile (7.5 inches) are beating New York City, Sioux Falls, Des Moines, Albuquerque, Reno, and even Anchorage, Alaska, which has only racked up 3.8 inches so far in meteorological winter, so far, which runs from Dec. 1 to Mar. 1. Anchorage had more than 25 inches of snow in October and November.
At least 11 people have died across the central and eastern United States, including a crash near Batesville, Texas, amid icy conditions that caused five fatalities, according to CNN.
Many weather stations on the central Gulf Coast, including New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama, and Pensacola, Florida, preliminarily set all-time snow records, and all-time state snowfall records were challenged in Louisiana and Florida.
A state of emergency was declared in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi with schools across the region closed and businesses shut down due to the snowstorm.
AccuWeather's preliminary estimate for total damage and economic loss from the snow, ice and extreme cold in the South is $14-$17 billion. “This has been the worst winter storm to hit the Gulf Coast in decades," AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “Businesses have been forced to shut down. Supply chain and shipping logistics have been disrupted severely. With the cold remaining in place, the impacts and interruptions from this winter storm will be felt for days to come.”
As the storm evolved and intensified along the Gulf coast, a blizzard warning was issued for southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, including the coastline. "It was the first blizzard warning issued along the Gulf Coast of the United States," AccuWeather Meteorologist and Digital Producer Jesse Ferrell said.
Florida
Snow arrived in the Florida Panhandle early Tuesday afternoon, covering beaches and stretches of Interstate 10.
By the time the storm was over Tuesday night, the state of Florida also preliminarily broke its all-time snow record for any storm, with 9.8 inches at Milton, located in the Florida Panhandle. This is the same area where the state record of 4 inches was set on March 6, 1954.
Louisiana
Rumbles of rare thundersnow echoed near Lafayette, Louisiana, on Tuesday morning as heavy snow blanketed the region. By 2 p.m. CDT, 9.5 inches of snow had been reported in Layfayette, with 10.5 at Rayne, Louisiana, the highest report from the state.
If confirmed, the 13.4 inches measured at Grand Coteau, Louisiana, could beat the state 24-hour snowfall record of 13 inches measured at Colfax in 1960.
In New Orleans, the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport recorded 3 inches of snow in just two hours Tuesday, with a total of 8 inches, more snow than any snowstorm in the city since at least 1948, when official records began. It was also the first time measurable snow fell in the city since 2009.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, New Orleans had several heavy snowstorms, including one that unloaded 20.7 inches on an unofficial station on Jan. 15-16, 1909, 9.6 inches on Nov. 14, 1906, and 10 inches on Feb. 14, 1895.
Mississippi and Alabama:
Gulfport, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama, last received measurable snow more than 10 years ago, in the winter of 2013-2014. However, on Tuesday, the regions turned white, with the Mobile Regional Airport setting a new preliminary all-time snow record of 7.5 inches.
The second-highest snowstorm total from the storm was 11 inches near Babbie, Alabama.
Texas
Beaches turned white as a rare winter storm with heavy snow and ice buried areas from San Antonio to Houston, Texas, and along the Gulf coast through the Texas Panhandle. While it has happened before, measurable snow south of Interstate 10 along the shores of the Gulf coast has occurred only a handful of times in recorded history.
Houston was a "ghost town" early Tuesday morning as residents hunkered down while snow blanketed the city, but as the day progressed, people started to head out and walk around in the rare snow, according to Storm Chaser Aaron Jayjack.
"I've talked to several people, this is the first time they've ever seen snow," Jayjack said. "This is a lifetime [event], something they'll probably remember for the rest of their lives."
For some, it was their first time ever seeing snow while for others, spotting snow covering the sandy beaches with the ocean as a backdrop was a rare treat.
Additional reporting by AccuWeather meteorologist and digital producer Jesse Ferrell.
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