So it snowed in the Florida Panhandle on Sunday, but those flurries couldn’t muster the staying power to make it down to Central Florida. That wasn’t the case 49 years ago today in 1977 when Orlando woke up to the white stuff.
The front page of the Sentinel Star on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 1977.
The front page of the evening Sentinel Star for that Wednesday, Jan. 19, 1977, showed a photo of 4-year-old Lenice Palumbo of Longwood looking at a small snowman built by her brothers Lenny, 12, Matthew, 9, and Scott, 7, taken by staff photographer Dennis Wall.
Headlines warned that 16 schools had been shut down across Orange and Seminole counties keeping 12,000 students at home, and the citrus industry was preparing for severe losses from the cold weather.
Florida Power Corp. had to shut down power in some areas because of high demand, affecting 20,000 customers in Orange, Seminole and Volusia counties.
“They were building snowmen in Longwood and Cypress Gardens today and South Florida radio stations played ‘Let is Now’ while citrusmen, vegetable growers and nurserymen counted their losses and braced for the third night of what could become Florida’s worst freeze of the century. Temperatures were expected to plunge to 14 degrees in some rural areas,” reads the weather roundup under the photo.
“Snow was reported falling over most of South and Central Florida this morning – in many places for the first time since the National Weather Service began keeping records in the late 1800s.
“Record low temperatures were recorded throughout the state including: Pensacola, 11 degrees, Orlando 24, Jacksonville, 20, Daytona Beach, 26, West Palm Beach, 34, Miami, 39, Miami Beach, 38, Ft. Myers, 32 and Key West, 52.
“The mercury held to a bone-chilling 31 degrees in Orlando at noon and the weatherman predicted temperatures in the City Beautiful will fall to 22 degrees tonight. Today’s high was expected to be near 40.”
It was still around long enough to do what Floridians do when the alien feature makes its way onto our normally sunny landscapes.
They drew messages on their car windshields, had mini snowball fights and constructed snowmen.
Snow rarely makes its way down Florida’s peninsula.
But the Panhandle in 2026 got a dusting of it over the weekend, one year after some places saw nearly 10 inches in 2025.
White stuff, again, in Walton County, Florida.
Nearly a year to the day we got snow last year.
Be safe on the roads if you’re venturing out on this winter wonderland.
We’re here if you need us. pic.twitter.com/XJMDP5xsBb
— Walton County Sheriff’s Office, Florida (@WCSOFL) January 18, 2026
Many people posted videos of the snow flurries to social media including the Walton County Sheriff’s Office.
“White stuff again in Walton County, Florida,” reads the post with video of poor driving conditions in the middle of the night. “Nearly a year to the day we got snow last year. Be safe on the roads if you’re venturing out on this winter wonderland. We’re here if you need us.”
1/18 1:40 PM ET: Well that was fast. Much of the snow that fell this morning and early afternoon has already melted, looking at this @NOAASatellites view. Thankfully, impacts were minimal, so if you got snow, hope you were able to enjoy our quick burst of snow.#ALwx #FLwx #GAwx pic.twitter.com/a0IluaQ0OG
— NWS Tallahassee (@NWSTallahassee) January 18, 2026
The NWS in Tallahassee posted satellite imagery from the NOAA’s GOES-East satellite showing the rapid movement of the weather system across the area.
“Well that was fast. Much of the snow that fell this morning and early afternoon has already melted,” the post read. “Thankfully, impacts were minimal, so if you got snow, hope you were able to enjoy our quick burst of snow.”
DeFuniak Springs currently. Photo by Keith Wilson. @NWSTallahassee pic.twitter.com/jJi0x9n4TV
— Danielle (@dkelley21) January 18, 2026
Reports of some areas getting up to 2 inches of snow that managed to stick around for a while.
But nothing for Central Florida this year.
So far.