ORLANDO, Fla. – One of the worst winter storms in U.S. history was in full swing 125 years ago. The Great Blizzard of 1899, also known as the Valentine’s Day Blizzard, brought severe winter weather to much of the country. This time around, however, Florida did not escape it.
Up to 3 inches of snow fell in the Florida Panhandle. Photos from the Florida Archives show a snowball fight on Capitol building in Tallahassee.
A trace of snow was reported around the Orlando area.
A storm system started developing in the western Gulf of Mexico along a stalled front during the evening of Feb. 11.
At the same time, an exceptionally strong Arctic high pressure cell was sliding down the Rockies. The storm itself moved across the Florida peninsula during the evening of Feb. 12 and the morning of Feb. 13.
The storm exploded as it lifted up the east coast of the U.S., dropping 1 to 3 feet of snow from Virginia to Maine.
Behind the storm, a severe blast of Arctic air settled in.
Tallahassee’s temperatures crashed to -2 degrees the morning of Feb. 13, setting the state’s all-time low temperature record. That record still stands as the coldest ever recorded in the Sunshine State and the only time a subzero temperature has been recorded.
Temperatures plummeted into the teens and 20s across Central Florida during the morning of Feb. 13. Ocala fell to 12 degrees while Orlando dipped to 22 degrees.
Orlando fell to 20 degrees the following morning, Valentine’s Day.
Below freezing temperatures were felt as far south as Miami.
This storm occurred during an El Niño.
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