Hey Alexa play “Snow on the Beach by Taylor Swift”, is all what everyone was listening to while a major winter storm hit the US Gulf coast. Palm trees had powdered-sugar-like coatings on their fronds, and golden beach sands were dusted in white. The storm impacted 1,500 miles of the Deep South from the Texas Gulf Coast to the Atlantic coast of the Carolinas, causing widespread closures and travel disruptions, including stranded motorists and thousands of canceled flights.
Multiple locations in Florida recorded enough snow to preliminarily shatter the state’s all-time snowfall record of 4 inches set in 1954. More than a foot of snow fell in Louisiana, the high mark from the storm. Other Southern cities also broke long-standing snowfall records: Mobile, Alabama, reported 7.5 inches, exceeding the previous 3.6-inch record from 1973. Pensacola, Florida, recorded 7.6 inches, surpassing its 2.3-inch record from 1954. Milton, Florida, recorded the most snow in Florida: a preliminary total of 10 inches.
The rare southern snow was the product of events that included cold Arctic air colliding with ocean moisture, somewhat to a Gulf of Mexico version of what meteorologists call lake effect snow—a phenomenon that usually describes the notoriously bitter winter weather in the Great Lakes region. Though the snow was a delight for many coastal residents who have been more to intense heat, the conditions do create a danger. The snow melts some during the day and then refreezes at night when temperatures drop, meaning icy road and sidewalk conditions in the morning. But in the coming days, the snow is expected to thaw as temperatures rise to more seasonable levels.
The snow on the beaches are creating the most beautiful and fascinating pictures but imagine coming from a cold state to enjoy the heat and sun just to have the same weather. Weather is now rising and snow is starting to melt after this unforgettable weather week.
