Parts Of Florida And Louisiana Have More Snow Than South Dakota

This week, a historic storm dumped several inches of snow across some states along the Gulf Coast, resulting in accumulations deeper than amounts recorded in more traditionally wintry parts of the United States.

AccuWeather reported on Wednesday that all-time snowfall records were preliminarily set at weather stations in cities across the South, from Louisiana to Florida. Eight inches of snow fell in New Orleans and more than seven inches in Pensacola, Florida, shattering decades-old records.

“The south has received fresh snowpack from a historic storm while areas in the Midwest remain bare. In the Northeast, we continue to hang onto our snowpack thanks to below freezing conditions for most of January,” said an X account from the National Weather Service (NWS).

A post from the main NWS account responded, “Here’s something you don’t see, well, EVER! On January 22, Florida and Louisiana have more snowpack than *checks notes* … *checks notes again* … South Dakota.”

States of emergency were activated in Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi, according to CNN, which also noted widespread closures across the region. Axios reported a handful of deaths associated with the winter storm in the South, including a vehicle crash in Texas, where icy road conditions made travel dangerous.

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Several meteorologists posted images and weather maps to X while remarking on the unusual weather unfolding across the southern U.S.

“Florida broke their state snow record from the historic winter storm on Tuesday. New totals are in and Milton received 9.8″, more than double the old record of 4″ from 1954 (in also Milton). For many areas, this will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience they’ll never forget,” said a post from Matt Devitt, who is the chief meteorologist at WINK News in Southwest Florida.

“I’m still in disbelief this happened. Here it is. Timelapse of historic New Orleans snow storm,” Payton Malone, a meteorologist for local CBS affiliate WWL-TV, said in a now-viral post to X along with a video. He added, “Snow got up to 12 inches on my snowboard in the French Quarter.”

The NWS office in Anchorage, Alaska, said on X that New Orleans received more than double the amount of snowfall since the start of meteorological winter on December 1, with New Orleans getting 8.0 inches of snow and Anchorage getting just 3.8 inches. The account tagged NWS New Orleans, quipping, “We’d like our snow back. Or at least some King Cake in return.”

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