Amid recent cold nights, a look back to when it snowed in South Florida

This past week’s cold snap — with images of snow in north Florida — has stirred memories of that moment decades ago when South Florida itself experienced a rare snow show.

The last time it snowed in South Florida was Jan. 19, 1977, when residents saw flurries as far south as Homestead.

At the time, official weather observers reported snow in LaBelle, West Palm Beach and Hollywood. Even Freeport in the Bahamas reported a snow-rain mix.

“It’s only happened one time in recorded history, so it’s extremely rare,” George Rizzuto, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

Prior to 1977, the farthest south snow had been observed was along a line between Fort Myers and Fort Pierce in February 1899, according to the weather service.

West Palm Beach has seen temperatures drop to 26 degrees several times since 1888, and Fort Lauderdale’s coldest day occurred in January 1977, the same cold snap that brought snow flurries.

Through the years, South Florida also has seen significant drops in temperature: One of the most severe and long-lasting cold events of South Florida’s recorded history happened in 2010.

In West Palm Beach, the temperature averaged 49.9 degrees for 12 days straight, the lowest on record for any 12-day period. And it was the longest recorded stretch of lows at or below 45 degrees — 12 days.

In Fort Lauderdale, the cold event tied the record of 12 straight days of lows below 50 degrees.

So far this year, the chilliest weather of the season is forecast to reach South Florida overnight Friday night into early Saturday, with feels-like temperatures dropping to the 30s and 40s. Western suburbs such as Wellington are forecast to have actual temperatures fall into the upper 30s and wind-chill temperatures as low as 31. Even farther west, where Palm Beach County borders the Big Cypress Seminole Tribe Reservation, there should be wind chill temperatures of 30 degrees.

Jan 24, 3PM – With wind chill temps dropping to the 30s and 40s overnight, there is now a Cold Weather Advisory in effect for: Glades, Hendry, Collier and inland Palm Beach counties from 2-8AM Saturday morning

Stay warm and remember to bring any plants or pets inside! pic.twitter.com/sdnUpW1hRc

— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) January 24, 2025

In a forecast discussion Friday, the National Weather Service in Miami said “very cold temperatures (for this region) will be felt overnight (Friday) and tomorrow morning as an area of high pressure builds over the region and cold Arctic air continues to push southward.

“Portions over the interior could experience wind chills between 30-35 degrees. To that effect, we issued a Cold Weather Advisory for Glades, Hendry, Collier, inland Palm Beach and inland Broward counties. Stay warm!”

This week’s cold snap will be short-lived. Coastal lows on Sunday will be in the low 60s and interior lows in the low 50s. By Monday, the coldest temperatures should be no lower than the upper 50s inland and the mid-60s on the coast.

Sun Sentinel staff writer Juan Ortega contributed to this news article.