The American South Gets 'Once-in-a Lifetime' Snow and Cold
2025-01-28
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1People in the southern U.S. state of Florida are used to warm, sunny weather.
2But on January 21, Floridians saw a rare sight: snow on their beaches.
3A cold weather system brought snow to several southern states in what many are calling a once-in-a-lifetime event.
4So 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.
5The Associated Press reported that 24.9 centimeters of snow fell near the small town of Milton, Florida.
6That breaks the snowfall record of 10.1 centimeters from 1954.
7"It's an incredible, incredible event," said Michael Mugrage.
8Mugrage is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama.
9That is where many of the highest snowfall numbers from the South were reported.
10"It puts it in perspective how rare this is."
11Milton 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.
12Here are some places reporting rare snowfall events:
13New Orleans, Louisiana
14The National Weather Service reported that in some parts of New Orleans, 25 centimeters of snow fell.
15That broke the city's record of 6.8 centimeters from 1963.
16Houston, Texas
17In Texas, up to 10 centimeters of snow fell in the Houston area.
18The area reportedly does not own any trucks with snow-moving equipment known as snowplows.
19Charleston, South Carolina
20More than 10 centimeters of snow fell in and around Charleston, South Carolina, where snow closed the airport.
21Mobile, Alabama
22At Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama, 15.7 centimeters of snow was recorded, breaking the city's one-day snowfall record of 12.7 centimeters.
23The record was set on January 24, 1881, the weather service said.
24A reported snowfall total of 28 centimeters in the small town of Babbie in southern Alabama was among the highest nationwide for the day.
25It was very cold in Mobile, too.
26The National Weather Service said a low of minus 14 Celsius tied the third-coldest low temperature record for the city, set in 1899.
27In Louisiana, all-time records for low temperatures were reported in the cities of New Iberia and Lafayette.
28Wednesday's low of minus 17 Celsius in New Iberia broke a record that had stood since 1962.
29Lafayette's low of minus 16 Celsius broke a record that dates back to 1899.
30Across several southern states, flights were cancelled, and some highways were closed.
31The record snowfall and low temperatures did not affect the entire world.
32The 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.
33So far this year, U.S. weather has set or equaled 697 daily records for coldest temperatures.
34That is close to the 629 daily records that have been reported so far this year for warmest temperatures.
35The 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.
36Scientists say they seem to be seeing more cool air but not cooler weather.
37Some scientists hold the theory that warm temperatures in the Arctic area are displacing cold air which is pushed further south.
38I'm Jill Robbins.
1People 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. 2So 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. 3The 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. 4"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." 5Milton 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. 6Here are some places reporting rare snowfall events: 7New Orleans, Louisiana 8The 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. 9Houston, Texas 10In 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. 11Charleston, South Carolina 12More than 10 centimeters of snow fell in and around Charleston, South Carolina, where snow closed the airport. 13Mobile, Alabama 14At 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. 15Cold and snowy 16It 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. 17Across several southern states, flights were cancelled, and some highways were closed. 18Europe's climate agency reports record high temperatures 19The 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. 20So 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. 21Scientists 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. 22I'm Jill Robbins. 23Jill Robbins adapted this story from Associated Press reports for Learning English. 24______________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26perspective - n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general) 27minus - adj. having a value that is below zero, negative 28What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.