page_title: Snow in Florida
section_title: Pre-1900
hierarchical_section_title: Snow in Florida / Events / Pre-1900
caption_attribution_description: English: Snowball fight on the steps of the FL capitol
context_page_description: It is very rare for snow to fall in the U.S. state of Florida, especially in the central and southern portions of the state. With the exception of the far northern areas of the state, most of the major cities in Florida have never recorded measurable snowfall, though trace amounts have been recorded, or flurries in the air observed few times each century. According to the National Weather Service, in the Florida Keys and Key West there is no known occurrence of snow flurries since the settlement of the region. In Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Palm Beach there is only one known report in more than 200 years of snow flurries observed in the air; this occurred in January 1977. In any event, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and Palm Beach have not seen snow flurries before or since this 1977 event.
  Due to Florida's low latitude and subtropical climate, temperatures cold enough to support significant snowfall are infrequent and their duration is fleeting. In general, frost is more common than snow, requiring temperatures of 32 °F or less at 2 m above sea level, a cloudless sky, and a relative humidity of 65% or more.
context_section_description: December 19, 1765: A "white frost" fell in the northern part of the British colony of East Florida "of short duration, and of no material detriment to the agricultural interests."
  1774: A snowstorm extended across much of the territory. The affected residents spoke of it as an "extraordinary white rain."
  January 10/11, 1800: Land surveyor Andrew Ellicott erected an observatory at Point Peter, a location near the mouth of Saint Marys River, now in the far southeast side of the City of St. Marys, Georgia. After recording a sunrise temperature of 37 °F (3 °C), he observed "snow and hail the whole day" until 10 pm. The temperature then fell below freezing, the wind shifted to northwesterly, and the skies cleared at midnight. At sunrise the morning of January 11, he reported snow 5 inches (130 mm) deep and a temperature of 28 °F (−2 °C). This snowstorm perhaps extended from Louisiana to Georgia.
  January 13, 1852: Snow fell all morning, accumulating to 0.5 inches (13 mm) at Jacksonville.
  February 28, 1855: A few flakes of snow fell at Jacksonville.
  January 29, 1868: Light sleet fell during the night at Jacksonville.
  February 28, 1869: During the morning, snow flurries fell at Jacksonville.
  January 10, 1873: At 7:25 am, a few snowflakes fell at Jacksonville.
  February 4/5, 1875: Between midnight and sunrise on both dates, light sleet occurred.
  December 1, 1876: According to the observer at Punta Rassa, Florida, snow fell for 5 minutes on the morning of December 1.
  January 4/5, 1879: At Jacksonville at 7 pm, sleet began, which turned to rain 90 minutes later. The freezing rain covered trees, shrubbery, and everything else outdoors by morning. The weight of the ice broke the limbs of many orange trees. At Fernandina, snow occurred.
  December 5, 1886: At Pensacola, following a heavy rain and wind storm, light snow fell from 4:25 pm to 8:20 pm, accumulating to 1.5 inches (38 mm).
  January 5, 1887: 1 inch (25 mm) of snow fell at Pensacola, and sleet fell elsewhere in the state.
  January 14, 1892: 0.4 inches (10 mm) of snow was reported at Pensacola. The first snowfall of the season occurred at Fort Barrancas. Monthly snowfall totaled 0.5 inches (13 mm) at Pensacola.
  January 17, 1892: At 10:30 am, sleet fell for a few minutes only at Madison, Florida.
  February 14, 1892: Pensacola reported 3 inches (76 mm) of snow.
  December 26/27, 1892: On both days, precipitation fell as sleet and snow at Pensacola.  On December 26, sleet also occurred at Cerro Gordo, Florida, and slight trace of snow fell at Tallahassee.  On December 27, a slight trace fell at Moseley Hall, Madison County, Florida. At intervals during daytime on December 27, light snow flurries occurred at Jacksonville.
  January 16–19, 1893: On January 16, snow occurred at Palatka.  On January 17, sleet fell at Oxford, and at Pensacola.  Shortly after midnight on January 18, sleet began in the city of Jacksonville and then turned to snow and then to rain.  That day, sleet also fell at Moseley Hall, Pensacola, and Tallahassee, and snow occurred at Lawtey.  On January 18 and 19, sleet fell at Bristol.
  December 29, 1894: Brooksville reported snowfall from 9 am to 11 am, and a few flakes fell at Mosquito Lagoon near Oak Hill, Florida.  The press reported snow at towns in middle and west Florida. The temperature morning fell to lows unprecedented in decades, and this freeze destroyed 2 million to 3 million boxes of not yet gathered oranges, severely damaged pineapple plants, and killed or destroyed almost all other fruits and vegetables.
  February 14, 1895: From 6:22 pm to 6:27 pm, light sleet fell at Jacksonville, followed by light snow until 6:32 pm.  At 7:20 pm, light snow resumed until 8 pm.  Snow also fell at Tampa, and at Pensacola, snow reportedly reached depths allowing for sleighing.
  February 12/13, 1899: At 9:45 pm, rain changed to sleet at Jacksonville. Sleet then changed to snow at 10:15 pm and continued through the night, accumulating to 2 inches (51 mm) before sunrise at 7 am as the temperature plunged to 10 °F (−12 °C). The accumulation reached 4 inches (100 mm) at Lake Butler. 
caption: Snowball fight on the steps of the Florida Capitol, February 1899
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