Snow, ice updates for Tallahassee, Big Bend

On By Littum

Florida’s capital can be in line for a historic and exciting snow day or a harrowing ice storm when a crazy winter storm slides across the Gulf Coast.

Forecasters say Tallahassee could see as much as 2 to 3 inches of snow or a quarter inch of ice, which could bring down power lines and cripple the city’s infrastructure.

There’s still plenty of time for the forecast to change, and Tallahassee itself is in a precarious position as something of a dividing line between where snow and freezing rain are supposed to fall.

Here are the latest updates from the path of a storm that could create a historic winter day in Florida.

Today is the day, and flags could start flying in Tallahassee as early as 8 p.m. 1 p.m., according to a revised National Weather Service forecast for what could be a winter storm of the century sweeping across the Gulf Coast.

Once again, meteorologists revised the forecast to bring impacts from what is expected to be a wintry mix of rain, snow, sleet and freezing rain to the area more quickly. They also added an inch of snow to what may break the city’s all-time snow record set in 1958.

The Tallahassee area is now set to see 2-3 inches of snow or sleet through the afternoon Tuesday and into Wednesday morning. They noted that even more snow could fall if pattern shifts to the south continue and colder air remains aloft. Models have been bullish on this storm for days, with some predicting as much as 6 inches of snow.

“Precipitation will likely start as mostly snow or rain in the afternoon, but as warmer air aloft begins to move in late Tuesday afternoon into tonight and cold surface air continues to filter in, that’s when other forms of mixed wintertime precipitation (sleet and freezing rain) will begin to develop,” forecasters wrote.

Much of the area could also see a more dangerous 0.01 to 0.1 inches of freezing rain with southern Leon County possibly seeing up to a quarter inch. Forecasters are quick to warn that even a small shift could bring more ice accumulation, leading to longer dangerous roads and downed trees and power lines weighed down by ice.

“Freezing rain remains the primary concern for this event given the potential damage it could do to trees, power lines and icy conditions along area roadways,” forecasters wrote. “However, accumulation of snow on roads and icy conditions from any snowpack will also cause hazardous travel conditions.”

And on Wednesday, residents may wake up to a winter wonderland — one that forecasters suggest you experience from home.

“Expect most precipitation to clear before sunrise Wednesday morning, but with temperatures likely below freezing and icy road conditions likely, travel is likely to be very hazardous,” forecasters write. “Road closures are possible and travel is NOT advised.”

2.8 inches is the number to beat. The most snow recorded in a 24-hour period was from the 12th-13th. February 1958.

On that fateful day, locals were able to have snowball fights and sled down the many hills that make up Florida’s capital.

Officials’ forecast shows Tallahassee getting as much as 2 to 3 inches, but models have been far more bullish, regularly suggesting between 3 and 6 inches.

North Florida is hours away from the start of what has the potential to be one of the most impactful winter storms in Gulf Coast history.

“This will be a historic storm no matter how you slice the pie, but the worst consequences will be if the majority of the precipitation falls as freezing rain that freezes over surfaces like roads, power lines and trees that have been repeatedly downed this way. and that in the last decade of hurricanes, tornadoes and severe thunderstorms,” ​​WeatherTiger meteorologist Ryan Truchelut wrote in his Monday afternoon forecast for the USA TODAY NETWORK.

“If the precipitation can stay snow more of the time, it will potential for 1-3″ of snow total (or more? Am I really typing this???) is there – especially closer to the Apalachicola River or the Florida-Georgia line.”

Read his full forecast here and check back here at 1 p.m. for a live-streamed video forecast.