Snow In Florida: Do You Remember?

LAKELAND, FL — Snowfall in the Tampa Bay area might seem impossible considering our recent stretch of sunny days and highs in the 80s. But, it happened ... one January long ago.

Forty years long ago to be exact. The rare occurrence took place on Jan. 19, 1977, dumping 2 inches of snow on a region that’s more accustomed to beach weather in the winter than freezes. While children and families delighted at the fleeting sight, the unusual winter weather created a mess on roads throughout the Tampa Bay area and entire state.

Marking the anniversary of the region’s last snow fall, the City of Lakeland took to its Facebook page Thursday to ask residents if they remembered the day.

“Snowball fights in (the) Leto High School parking lot,” recalled one fan. Another reminisced about getting an impromptu day off from school to play in the snow.

We’d like to hear your stories. Do you remember the great snowfall of 1977? Share your recollections by commenting below!

And, don’t worry, the region isn’t in for a return of snow in the immediate future. The next few days should bring highs in the 80s, but conditions are expected to change heading into the weekend. According to the National Weather Service, a cold front is expected to bring strong to severe thunderstorms to the region – not snow – Saturday night and into Sunday. Temperatures are expected to cool down, but only into the 60s; not quite the frigid conditions necessary for snow.

To find out more about the anticipated bad weather over the weekend, check out “Hazardous Weather Outlook: Severe Thunderstorm Threat Looms.”

To share your memories of the 1977 snowstorm, just comment below.

Photo by Eneko Muiño via Flickr used under Creative Commons