By Mary Whitfill Roeloffs
Topline Snowfall records were broken this week in the Gulf Coast states of Texas, Alabama, Florida and Louisiana when an unprecedented winter storm slammed the region, leading to closures, travel disruptions and several deaths, with more extreme weather yet to come.
Large Winter Storm Brings Rare Snowfall To Large Swath Of Southern States
A statue of Pete Fountain is covered in snow on Jan. 21, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Getty
Florida was hit with its heaviest snowfall in history Tuesday when a preliminary 8.8 inches was recorded in Milton, north of Pensacola, breaking the state’s 130-year-old record for total snowfall (3 inches of snow fell in Pensacola in 1895).
Up to 9 inches of snow fell in parts of Louisiana, and New Orleans’ 8 inches shattered the city’s previous highest snow total of 2.7 inches set in 1963.
Mobile, Alabama, reported 7.5 inches of snow—breaking the previous 3.6-inch record from 1973.
In Houston, 3 inches of snow fell on Tuesday to become the third snowiest day on record, according to Fox Weather, and marking the highest single-day snow total since Jan. 30, 1949.
The storm brought the first-ever blizzard warning to coastal parts of Louisiana and Texas, and governors across the South issued state of emergency declarations.