TWC: Snow Fell in South Texas, Along the Gulf Coast, Even the Florida Panhandle

Written by on December 13, 2017 in Autumn 2017, Summer 2017, United States of America, Winter 2017/18 with 0 Comments
By Jonathan Erdman
Dec 9 2017 06:00 AM EST
weather.com
Story Highlights

Much of Deep South Texas saw its first accumulating snow since Christmas 2004.

Before 2004, some of these areas hadn’t seen measurable snow in decades.

Winter Storm Benji was also one of the heaviest December storms on record in the Deep South.

Snow fell in many locations along the Gulf Coast, including the Florida Panhandle.

A bizarre, first-in-over-a decade snow blanketed parts of southern Texas late Thursday into Friday, then spread its snow into the Deep South and Gulf Coast, including parts of the Florida panhandle.

The southern edge of Winter Storm Benji’s snow brushed the western Florida panhandle late Friday night and early Saturday, producing “a dusting at most, perhaps up to a half-inch for a few” locations, according to Tim Cermak, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama.

Snow covered grassy areas in the town of Jay, north of Pensacola in Santa Rosa County Saturday morning.

Flurries were also reported at Destin and Miramar Beach early Saturday morning, among other locations in northwest Florida.

Radar loop in the early morning hours of Dec. 9, 2017, showing snow (in blue) from Winter Storm Benji moving across the western Florida panhandle.  

While official snowfall totals weren’t available at the time of this update, this may have been the first measurable snow at Pensacola Regional Airport since Winter Storm Leon produced 1 inch of snow in late January 2014.

According to the ACIS database, Pensacola has only had six days of measurable snow in records dating to 1948, two of which occurred in a notoriously cold January 1977, among others.

One inch of snow also fell in Mobile, Alabama, only their third December day on record with 1 inch or more of snowfall and only the 12th such day overall, in records dating to 1948.

Not to be left out, light snow also fell along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

South Texas Snow First in Over a Decade

Snow fell as far south as Brownsville on Friday, with 0.3 inch of accumulation reported at the city’s airport.

This was only the third measurable – defined as at least 0.1 inch – snow event on record in one of America’s southernmost cities, located roughly the same latitude as Miami.

Christmas Day 2004 was the last accumulating snow in Brownsville. Before 2004, the last time it snowed was in the winter of 1895-96, according to the National Weather Service.

Just outside of Brownsville, about an inch of snow was measured in Edinburg.

That’s unusual enough. What was more interesting: Three days earlier, they had the nation’s hottest daily high temperature, just shy of 90 degrees.

Just to the north, thundersnow was reported in Raymondville on Friday morning, with snowfall rates around 1 inch per hour.

Harvey, then Benji

In Corpus Christi, up to 7 inches of snow blanketed parts of the city, also accompanied briefly by lightning.

Officially, only 1 inch was officially measured at Corpus Christi International Airport.

This was the first accumulating snow in the city since the infamous Christmas 2004 snowstorm dumped 4.4 inches over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

(MORE: The Strangest Weather Events I’ve Seen in My Career)

Only eight days prior to Winter Storm Benji dating to 1948 had measurable snow in Corpus Christi. Before the Christmas 2004 event, they hadn’t seen measurable snow there since 1973.

This snow occurred less than four months after Hurricane Harvey’s Category 4 landfall along the Texas Coastal Bend, and record-smashing rainfall flooding in southeast Texas.

Around 3 inches of snow blanketed lingering debris from Harvey in Rockport, Texas.

Here’s a list of other Texas notables from Winter Storm Benji (all data via ACIS):

  • Austin: 1.3 inch at Bergstrom Airport Thursday was their first December measurable snow at that location dating to 1948
  • San Antonio: 1.9 inch Thursday was only their second measurable December snow of record dating to 1946
  • College Station: 5 inches Thursday was the heaviest calendar-day snow at Easterwood Field dating to 1951 and their first December measurable snow in their 66-year period of record. (Note: A cooperative station 6 miles southwest of the city with a longer history recorded four December measurable snow events prior to 1951, as well as a 6-inch snowfall on Jan. 30, 1949)
  • Houston: 0.7 inch at Bush Intercontinental Airport was their first measurable snowfall since Dec. 4, 2009.
  • Beaumont-Port Arthur: 3 inches of snow was their snowiest December day on record and tied for their second snowiest day overall with Jan. 11, 1973; Only Feb. 12, 1960, 3.5 inches, was snowier, there

Elsewhere in the Deep South…

Winter Storm Benji blanketed many other areas of the Deep South with an unusual snow.

Estimated snowfall over a 48-hour period ending 6 a.m. CST, Dec. 9, 2017, illustrating the snow swath from Winter Storm Benji in the South. (NOAA/NOHRSC)

Lake Charles, Louisiana, picked up 2.1 inches of snow, their heaviest December snowstorm of record and their heaviest accumulation since Jan. 11, 1973, according to the National Weather Service.

Lake Charles, LA (Credit Mista Mixon‏ @Mista_Mixon)

Another state capital, Jackson, Mississippi, picked up their most December snow since just after the 1929 market crash kicked off the Great Depression. Benji was the heaviest single snowstorm since January 1982, there.

Meridian, Mississippi, had their third snowiest day on record Friday (5 inches), topped only by Dec. 31, 1963 (14 inches) and Jan. 28, 1904 (7.6 inches).

Birmingham, Alabama, reported 4 inches of snow on Friday, after seeing snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour for four straight hours Friday morning.

The 4 inches Birmingham saw from Benji ranks as the third snowiest December day in records dating to 1930.

 

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