Latest update:18 January 2026 at 9:59 PM IST

Snow fell on the Florida Panhandle, turning beaches and palm fronds white. This marks the second January in a row with rare snowfall in the region.

Snow in Crestview, Northwest Florida. (Photo: X@PaulFox13)

Snow appeared briefly and rarely in parts of the western Florida Panhandle early Sunday, as a wave of freezing air behind a cold front turned lingering rain showers into snowflakes, an unusual sight in the Sunshine State.

The snowfall was light but visible, with dust scattered on grass and rooftops in several areas. Photos and videos quickly flooded social media, showing the flakes washing up on beaches and settling neatly in palm fronds. While temperatures were too high for snow to accumulate on roads, a thin layer remained on lawns before it melted.

Remarkably, this event was not a once-in-a-lifetime event. Less than a year ago, on January 21, 2025, some of the same areas recorded as much as 8 inches (20 cm) of snow, marking the heaviest snowfall there since the late 19th century.

Rare winter weather has extended far beyond Florida. Parts of southeast Alabama and southern Georgia also reported snowfall, allowing residents to experience their second “winter wonderland” in less than a year. Snow covered the ground in cities like Columbus and Macon, Georgia, where officials warned that accumulating snow could make travel dangerous.

For many in the Deep South, the brief snowfall was a reminder that even warmer areas can still get caught by the cold of winter.

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