Tomorrow marks 42 years since one of the coldest days to hit the state. On Jan. 19, 1977, the temperature dropped to the low 30s in the Florida Suncoast (and into the single digits in the Panhandle), creating an average snowfall statewide of two inches.
It was a very chaotic day in FL history– with drivers being unequipped navigating icy roads, causing thousands of auto accidents, and although this cold front only lasted about half a day, it brought significant farming consequences– causing fruit + vegetable growers to suffer great losses.
The day it snowed in Tampa Bay | Photo by Tampa Bay Times
However, this was not the coldest day on record. 78 years prior, on Feb. 13, 1899, temperatures dropped two degrees below zero in Tallahassee, during the Great Arctic Outbreak of 1899. The cause of the East Coast Blizzard was a result of a developed cyclone that brought snow to much of the Gulf Coast + Florida.
Were you here in the winter wonderland of ‘77? Or perhaps you are a proud descendant of a Tallahasseean who had passed down their experience of the Great Arctic Outbreak? Send us your snowfall tales + pictures as a part of our #LALScrapbook Challenge.
We don’t know about you, but Floridians aren’t exactly equipped to greet such arctic temperatures. I mean, look at our wardrobes. Starting with the crops we grow to the roads we drive, blizzard surprises are just not for us. ❄️
