Jan 17, 2025
As a winter storm continues to hammer the South with frigid temperatures, there's been a lot of talk online about the potential of snow in Florida. Even though it's rare, snowfall does occur in Florida. A total of 30 events have been reported in the 21st century, mostly of flurries around the Panhandle. But in 2018, Tallahassee saw a measurable amount of snow for the first time since 1989, according to the National Weather Service.As for next week, we have a few predictions so far. ABC Action News meteorologist Greg Dee has broken down what we know and whether or not the Sunshine State will be able to build a snowman. Read his latest update below.Models are indicating that a large, cold airmass will move into the southeast on Sunday, with a cold front moving down through the state on Sunday. The front will settle in the southern Gulf on Sunday night, and models indicate an area of low pressure will develop on the tail end of the front on Monday. This low pressure will be really far south and will move east toward Florida, creating an ideal track for winter weather in Florida.Snow, sleet and freezing rain are, of course, rare in Florida, so for everything to set up just right is not common. In the 2018 event, the models were calling for up to six inches of snow right up to when the snow was falling up in Tallahassee. The state capitol ended up with two to three inches instead, showing just how difficult and uncertain a snow forecast is in Florida.Of the two models, the EURO is colder and much more wintry across north Florida. As accurate as the EURO is with hurricane tracks, it's not been very good with this cold. Consistently, it's called for much colder weather across Florida than what actually ends up happening.The GFS is less aggressive with the cold air but still brings down enough to have rain change to some snow across the panhandle Tuesday night into Wednesday morning next week. This is why I think we can start acknowledging the possibility of winter weather in Florida next week.The GFS snowfall across north Florida would probably be three inches or less, with the highest amounts near the Alabama-Georgia state line.The EURO, with its more aggressive forecast for cold air farther south, is significantly heavier. Some of the EURO forecasts call for as much as six inches in parts of North Florida, away from the coast and up any higher hillsides.The more troubling part of the EURO forecast is north-central Florida Tuesday night into Wednesday. If the cold air makes its way down towards Gainesville or Ocala and these locations manage to drop to 30-31 degrees Tuesday night, freezing rain is possible.Freezing rain is the worst type of winter weather. Freezing rain is liquid rain that stays a liquid while in the air. As the liquid rain falls, it cools below 32 degrees but remains a liquid. Then, as it lands on roads, sidewalks, trees and powerlines, it freezes on contact, coating everything in a glaze of ice. This makes driving impossible.Of more concern is the amount of ice that's possible. Right now, the EURO is showing more than 0.5 inches of ice accumulation, with some locations potentially approaching one inch?! I've lived in places where ice events like this happen, and one inch of ice accumulation is significant. That kind of ice will cause tree branches to come down and bring down power lines as well. Let's hope the EURO is out to lunch on this forecast and that things will warm a degree or two in this forecast, allowing for cold rain instead of ice.If you do want to go on an adventure next week and try to find snow, here is a snowfall probability map. It shows the chance of seeing one inch or more of snow on the ground across Florida. Right now, areas west of Tallahassee near the North Florida border have a 40% or higher chance of seeing one inch or more of snow next week. That's pretty high this far out.Again, for our area, Tampa Bay, we'll just see a cold rain from this.
Respond, make new discussions, see other discussions and customize your news...

To add this website to your home screen:

1. Tap tutorialsPoint

2. Select 'Add to Home screen' or 'Install app'.

3. Follow the on-scrren instructions.

Feedback
FAQ
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service