Panhandle Floridians woke up to an unusual view on Jan. 22, 2025, snow and ice. (Photo by Michael Moline/Florida Phoenix)
Tuesday and Wednesday delivered a winter wonderland for some and delayed travel plans for others as an unusual layer of snow and ice coated North Florida.
Preliminary storm data from the National Weather Service show as much as six inches of snow in Bonifay in Holmes County and in Fountain and Cedar Grove in Bay County. Graceville in Jackson County reported 6.4 inches.
The Florida Department of Transportation reported six inches of snow in Santa Rosa County as of Tuesday evening.
The FDOT operations center in Milton has recorded six inches of snow fall so far in Santa Rosa County. pic.twitter.com/LF6e2PLDDn
— FDOT District 3 (@MyFDOT_NWFL) January 21, 2025
An extreme cold warning is in effect for much of Florida’s Panhandle and Big Bend from Wednesday evening until Thursday morning, as well as southeast Alabama, and south central and southwest Georgia.
Temperatures are not expected to rise above freezing for long enough to melt away all precipitation Wednesday, meaning it would refreeze overnight and remain a problem until Thursday, state and city of Tallahassee officials said.
Quincy in Gadsden County and De Funiak Springs in Walton County each reported 4.5 inches of snow
Tallahassee reported 2.1 inches of snow, according to NWS data.
Wednesday morning, Panama City officials warned that unsafe roads and bridges are not expected to improve until midday Thursday.
Nearly four inches of snow was reported near Panama City, and 2 inches were measured downtown.
The National Weather Service maintains advice to cover exposed skin, protect pets, and work to prevent pipes from freezing as part of its extreme cold warning extended to a second consecutive night.
“Overnight, we worked to clear hundreds of miles of roadways, and utility crews are working to restore power to those who experienced disruptions,” Gov. Ron DeSantis posted to X Wednesday morning. “… It’s still icy out there—stay safe by staying off the roads if possible, and enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime Florida snow day with your families!”
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The Governor’s Mansion was grounds for a snowball fight Wednesday morning, the First Lady reported.
It’s more of an ice fight than a snowball fight, but the kids LOVE it! (…especially hitting Mama
) pic.twitter.com/rC5V9sji5d
— Casey DeSantis (@CaseyDeSantis) January 22, 2025
About 35,000 customers were without power as of Wednesday morning, according to poweroutage.us.
Travel
During a news conference as the precipitation approached Tuesday, the governor and Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie urged Floridians to stay off the road.
“The road conditions, driving in icy conditions, can be very, very hazardous, and that’s true anyways, but you also have Florida drivers, which, look North Florida may not be the level of South Florida in terms of the driving, but when you are in these icy conditions, there’s a lot that can go wrong,” DeSantis said Tuesday. “And if people have never driven in that before, it is just different driving in that.”
The Florida DOT kept crews on the road overnight, deploying the state’s 11 snowplows and about 150 trucks to de-ice roadways, although portions of Interstate 10 in Escambia and Okaloosa counties closed Tuesday evening and remained closed Wednesday morning.
FDOT snowplow crews are working as quickly as possible on clearing the state highway system in the hardest hit areas in NW Florida but they need your help by maintaining a safe distance, being patient and giving crews room to do their work. pic.twitter.com/DMiX1Dww6B
— FDOT District 3 (@MyFDOT_NWFL) January 22, 2025
The Tallahassee airport canceled flights until at least 1 p.m. Thursday.
Flights from Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport were canceled Wednesday, as were flights from the Pensacola airport.
Jacksonville International Airport canceled all flights through Wednesday morning, with service varying into the afternoon.
School closures
The weather provided a memory for North Florida students that they may remember forever – a snow day.
Thirty counties called off classes Wednesday, as did four universities: Florida A&M University, Florida State University, University of North Florida, and University of West Florida. The University of Florida closed until 12:30 p.m.
Schools in Bay, Escambia, Liberty, and Madison counties were to remain closed Thursday, and in Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties will remain closed through Friday.
Chipola College, Florida Gateway College, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Gulf Coast State College, North Florida College, Northwest Florida State College, Pensacola State College, Santa Fe College, and Tallahassee State College were closed Wednesday. Gulf Coast State College will remain closed Thursday, too.
Low-income home energy assistance expanded
FloridaCommerce will provide immediate flexibility for community agencies using Low-Income Home Energy Assistance program funds for agencies in weather-affected areas, the agency announced following the storm.
The funds are used for temporary housing, utility payments, electrical power, cable connection, and other energy-focused services.
“These disaster flexibilities ensure that weather-affected Floridians’ Community Action Agencies have immediate and more flexible ways to deploy home-energy and wrap-around supports, because many of these immediate services can be the difference-maker for affected families,” Florida Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly said in a news release.
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