Florida is experiencing the heaviest snowfall in state history as the winter storm hits the South

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida spent Tuesday preparing for its most significant winter weather since 1989, with airports closing and officials urging residents in the western Panhandle to stay off the roads.

Tuesday evening, widespread reports of 5-12 inches of snow were reported around Pensacola, prompting troopers to close a nearly 70-mile stretch of Interstate 10. National Weather Service offices along the corridor issued a rare winter storm warning for counties from Pensacola to Jacksonville, which warns of snow and ice accumulations that can make travel dangerous.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency Monday ahead of the winter mess, saying that for communities in the Panhandle, the winter mess could be record high. The Sunshine State’s record snowfall was 4 inches in Milton, outside Pensacola, on March 6, 1954, which was eclipsed Tuesday by the measurements around Pensacola.

“I don’t need to tell anybody that we’re not necessarily used to walking in a winter wonderland here in Florida,” DeSantis said during a news briefing at the state’s emergency operations center.

Utility providers across the I-10 corridor braced for weather-related outages likely to occur if a significant amount of ice fell.

FOX Weather Meteorologist Steve Bender was in Tallahassee Tuesday, waiting for the liquid precipitation to turn to freezing rain and even snow.

The capital looked like a ghost town as residents were unwilling to take the storm for granted, especially after an active hurricane season in the region.

FIRST EVER SNOW WARNING ISSUED ALONG GULF COAST AS DEADLY WINTER STORM HITS TEXAS

Snow is piling up in the western Panhandle

The heaviest snowfall in the Sunshine State occurred around Pensacola, where spotters reported measuring amounts of 5-12 inches through Tuesday night.

Due to the dangerous weather and a series of crashes, a nearly 70-mile stretch of Interstate 10 was shut down by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Emergency officials said they had pre-treated some roads, but efforts appeared to have been insufficient ahead of the big winter storm.

According to the National Weather Service, more than 7.6 inches officially fell over Pensacola, with about 8.8 inches in nearby Milton.

According to NWS meteorologists in Tallahassee, it will take several days to verify all snowfall reports and determine if a city beat out the Pensacola metro area for the biggest snowfall ever in the Sunshine State.

Delays and cancellations are increasing

Most school districts between Jacksonville and Pensacola canceled classes Wednesday, including major universities such as Florida State University, FAMU, the University of North Florida and the University of Florida in Gainesville.

All flights in and out of Tallahassee International Airport were canceled from 15 on Tuesday with the intention of restoring operations by midday on Wednesday.

Similar cancellations were planned at Jacksonville International Airport, where the last departing flight was expected to depart around

Any kind of frozen precipitation can be problematic for the region, as communities lack the necessary equipment, such as treatment trucks and snowplows, to keep roads and airports clear of hazardous travel conditions.

Naval Air Station Pensacola’s main gate was closed to both inbound and outbound traffic Tuesday afternoon as a mix of wintry precipitation moved in from the west.

WATCH IT: STANDS COVERED IN SNOW DURING HISTORIC GULF COAST WINTER STORM

Biggest winter storm threat in Florida since 1989

In northern Florida and many other cities across the Southeast, the 1989 Christmas week snowstorm holds many records and serves as a benchmark for all other winter precipitation events.

The historic storm system developed on December 22 before moving across the Sunshine State and off the Atlantic coast.

Wilmington, North Carolina, reported seeing 15 inches of snow, while Jacksonville, Florida saw nearly 2 inches.

A swath of between 1 and 4 inches of snow generally stretched along the Interstate 10 corridor from Tallahassee and Florida’s Big Bend to Jacksonville, pointing north.

According to the NWS, the frozen weather event caused widespread power outages and severe crop damage as arctic temperatures gripped the region for days.