A small part of Florida is the Snowy State for the second year in a row.
Snow briefly covered the grass and rooftops in parts of the western Florida Panhandle on Sunday morning as just enough frigid air rushed in behind a cold front to turn the last rain showers into snowflakes in the Sunshine State.
Snow was also falling in other places in the U.S. more accustomed to it. Blizzard warnings were issued for parts of North Dakota and Minnesota and snow was expected in the Northeast.
The Florida snow wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Less than a year ago, on Jan. 21, 2025, some of those same areas saw up to 8 inches (20 centimeters) of snow in what was the most significant snowfall in many places since the late 1800s.
Danielle Brahier set an alarm for 3 a.m. and the snow started an hour later at her Holt, Florida, home. She woke her three daughters up and they went outside.
“It was enough to make snowballs and snowmen,” she said.
Last year’s snow was five days before her wedding day.
“Maybe the world is changing and we’re just going to get snow here,” Brahier said.
Just outside Pensacola, Jim Keith was amazed to watch the snow fall with his morning cup of coffee out his window and then got his granddaughter up to play and throw a ball to his dog.
“It was phenomenal. Not anything you’d expect two years in a row,” Keith said.
Snow photos flooded social media. There were a few flakes on the beach and snow nestled into palm fronds. It was too warm to stick to the roads, but a dusting of snow sat on the grass for a little while before mostly melting.
The rare snow in the South wasn’t just in Florida. Southeastern Alabama and southern Georgia also reported snow in areas that also got to celebrate a second winter wonderland in less than a year.
Snow covered the ground in Columbus and Macon, Georgia, and officials warned enough might fall to make travel treacherous.
In North Dakota, forecasters warned of life-threatening blizzard conditions as winds were gusting to 50 mph (80 kph) making the wind chills in the blowing snow feel closer to minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 37 Celsius).
