The American South Gets ‘Once-in-a Lifetime’ Snow and Cold

People in the southern U.S. state of Florida are used to warm, sunny weather. But on January 21, Floridians saw a rare sight: snow on their beaches. A cold weather system brought snow to several southern states in what many are calling a once-in-a-lifetime event.

So much snow fell across the American South that snowballs flew on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, and children and parents used any kind of plastic they could find to slide down snow-covered hills along the Mississippi River.

The Associated Press reported that 24.9 centimeters of snow fell near the small town of Milton, Florida. That breaks the snowfall record of 10.1 centimeters from 1954.

"It's an incredible, incredible event," said Michael Mugrage. Mugrage is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama. That is where many of the highest snowfall numbers from the South were reported. "It puts it in perspective how rare this is."

Milton is northeast of Pensacola, Florida, where 22.6 centimeters broke the city's previous all-time snow record of 7.6 centimeters set in 1895.

Here are some places reporting rare snowfall events:

New Orleans, Louisiana

The National Weather Service reported that in some parts of New Orleans, 25 centimeters of snow fell. That broke the city's record of 6.8 centimeters from 1963.

Houston, Texas

In Texas, up to 10 centimeters of snow fell in the Houston area. The area reportedly does not own any trucks with snow-moving equipment known as snowplows.

Charleston, South Carolina

More than 10 centimeters of snow fell in and around Charleston, South Carolina, where snow closed the airport.

Mobile, Alabama

At Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama, 15.7 centimeters of snow was recorded, breaking the city's one-day snowfall record of 12.7 centimeters. The record was set on January 24, 1881, the weather service said. A reported snowfall total of 28 centimeters in the small town of Babbie in southern Alabama was among the highest nationwide for the day.

Cold and snowy

It was very cold in Mobile, too. The National Weather Service said a low of minus 14 Celsius tied the third-coldest low temperature record for the city, set in 1899. In Louisiana, all-time records for low temperatures were reported in the cities of New Iberia and Lafayette. Wednesday's low of minus 17 Celsius in New Iberia broke a record that had stood since 1962. Lafayette's low of minus 16 Celsius broke a record that dates back to 1899.

Across several southern states, flights were cancelled, and some highways were closed.

Europe’s climate agency reports record high temperatures

The record snowfall and low temperatures did not affect the entire world. The AP reports Europe's Copernicus climate service data shows the first 20 days of January 2025 had the highest average temperature worldwide recorded for the first 20 days of any year.

So far this year, U.S. weather has set or equaled 697 daily records for coldest temperatures. That is close to the 629 daily records that have been reported so far this year for warmest temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said that in the past 365 days, U.S. weather stations have recorded five times as many heat records as cold records.

Scientists say they seem to be seeing more cool air but not cooler weather. Some scientists hold the theory that warm temperatures in the Arctic area are displacing cold air which is pushed further south.

I’m Jill Robbins.

Jill Robbins adapted this story from Associated Press reports for Learning English.

perspective – n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)

minus – adj. having a value that is below zero, negative

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