Snow in Tampa, FL?

[ocracoke]

ive got a mix of rain snow it was raining an hour ago will it turn to snow?

You don't have a mix of rain and snow. Your surface temps don't support it. Your in the mid 40s right now!

It's actually not as hard as you might think to have snow (especially wet, partially melted snowflakes mixed with rain) when surface temps are in the mid 40's. All that is necessary is a deep layer of subfreezing air just above the surface. If the layer of above freezing air near the ground is shallow enough, the snow won't completely melt on the way down. This morning's sounding from KTBW clearly supported such a situation. It was 0 degrees Celsius at just 987 meters above sea level (that's 3,238.2 feet); most certainly conducive for some wet snowflakes to mix in with the rain.

3,238.2 feet is actually quite a long way up for snowflakes to stay intact as they reach the ground...especially if ground temps. are above 40F. Now if it was 500 feet up, then yes it is very possible. The places that saw some light mixture were places that were most likely below 40F at the time. And even then it sounds like a non-event. You must of had to look quite hard to see the flakes. If they did make it, they were probably tiny. In most cities they would probably not even be noticed when mixing with the rain...but since it is the west coast of Florida I understand. May be you guys in Tampa can get a real good snowstorm one day soon. you deserve it. When I lived in Orlando, I remember I would always wish for a snowstorm that never came. I am sure that is how most of you have felt as well.

I agree with Extreme. I highly doubt with mid 40s as surface temps, that FLORIDA saw flurries. Its rare to see snow in the mid 40s, and I'm not about to think it happened in Florida. I think some people who reported flurries this morning were just seeing things, and just got excited... Temperatures DID NOT support flurries in the Tampa area, St. Pete area...

Wow. I don't know who you think you are arguing with. I most certainly know what I'm talking about. It is possible with the right thermal profile. At the time of this morning's sounding from Tampa Bay, the surface temp was 4.8 degrees C, with a wetbulb of 2.3. Now, maybe I wasn't specific enough, but I know that I clearly said the sounding supported some wet snowflakes mixing in; and it did (I had been arguing that would even be possible under the right set of conditions, in the mid 40's, this was cooler than that if you would have looked at the Skew-T yourself). A freezing level just above 3,000 feet with that type of a temperature profile is most definitely not high enough to completely melt snowflakes. I don't care if you two don't agree with solid meteorological principles. Someone has a little more learning to do, especially before having the gall to try to refute something that is sound science.

[Tyler]

ive got a mix of rain snow it was raining an hour ago will it turn to snow?

You don't have a mix of rain and snow. Your surface temps don't support it. Your in the mid 40s right now!

It's actually not as hard as you might think to have snow (especially wet, partially melted snowflakes mixed with rain) when surface temps are in the mid 40's. All that is necessary is a deep layer of subfreezing air just above the surface. If the layer of above freezing air near the ground is shallow enough, the snow won't completely melt on the way down. This morning's sounding from KTBW clearly supported such a situation. It was 0 degrees Celsius at just 987 meters above sea level (that's 3,238.2 feet); most certainly conducive for some wet snowflakes to mix in with the rain.

3,238.2 feet is actually quite a long way up for snowflakes to stay intact as they reach the ground...especially if ground temps. are above 40F. Now if it was 500 feet up, then yes it is very possible. The places that saw some light mixture were places that were most likely below 40F at the time. And even then it sounds like a non-event. You must of had to look quite hard to see the flakes. If they did make it, they were probably tiny. In most cities they would probably not even be noticed when mixing with the rain...but since it is the west coast of Florida I understand. May be you guys in Tampa can get a real good snowstorm one day soon. you deserve it. When I lived in Orlando, I remember I would always wish for a snowstorm that never came. I am sure that is how most of you have felt as well.

I agree with Extreme. I highly doubt with mid 40s as surface temps, that FLORIDA saw flurries. Its rare to see snow in the mid 40s, and I'm not about to think it happened in Florida. I think some people who reported flurries this morning were just seeing things, and just got excited... Temperatures DID NOT support flurries in the Tampa area, St. Pete area...

Wow. I don't know who you think you are arguing with. I most certainly know what I'm talking about. It is possible with the right thermal profile. At the time of this morning's sounding from Tampa Bay, the surface temp was 4.8 degrees C, with a wetbulb of 2.3. Now, maybe I wasn't specific enough, but I know that I clearly said the sounding supported some wet snowflakes mixing in; and it did (I had been arguing that would even be possible under the right set of conditions, in the mid 40's, this was cooler than that if you would have looked at the Skew-T yourself). A freezing level just above 3,000 feet with that type of a temperature profile is most definitely not high enough to completely melt snowflakes. I don't care if you two don't agree with solid meteorological principles. Someone has a little more learning to do, especially before having the gall to try to refute something that is sound science.

Whoa there internet tough guy, I think there is a misunderstanding here. Yes, there were snow flurries in the Tampa Bay area, linkerweather has already explained that to me. I apologize.

[Extremeweatherguy]

ive got a mix of rain snow it was raining an hour ago will it turn to snow?

You don't have a mix of rain and snow. Your surface temps don't support it. Your in the mid 40s right now!

It's actually not as hard as you might think to have snow (especially wet, partially melted snowflakes mixed with rain) when surface temps are in the mid 40's. All that is necessary is a deep layer of subfreezing air just above the surface. If the layer of above freezing air near the ground is shallow enough, the snow won't completely melt on the way down. This morning's sounding from KTBW clearly supported such a situation. It was 0 degrees Celsius at just 987 meters above sea level (that's 3,238.2 feet); most certainly conducive for some wet snowflakes to mix in with the rain.

3,238.2 feet is actually quite a long way up for snowflakes to stay intact as they reach the ground...especially if ground temps. are above 40F. Now if it was 500 feet up, then yes it is very possible. The places that saw some light mixture were places that were most likely below 40F at the time. And even then it sounds like a non-event. You must of had to look quite hard to see the flakes. If they did make it, they were probably tiny. In most cities they would probably not even be noticed when mixing with the rain...but since it is the west coast of Florida I understand. May be you guys in Tampa can get a real good snowstorm one day soon. you deserve it. When I lived in Orlando, I remember I would always wish for a snowstorm that never came. I am sure that is how most of you have felt as well.

I agree with Extreme. I highly doubt with mid 40s as surface temps, that FLORIDA saw flurries. Its rare to see snow in the mid 40s, and I'm not about to think it happened in Florida. I think some people who reported flurries this morning were just seeing things, and just got excited... Temperatures DID NOT support flurries in the Tampa area, St. Pete area...

Wow. I don't know who you think you are arguing with. I most certainly know what I'm talking about. It is possible with the right thermal profile. At the time of this morning's sounding from Tampa Bay, the surface temp was 4.8 degrees C, with a wetbulb of 2.3. Now, maybe I wasn't specific enough, but I know that I clearly said the sounding supported some wet snowflakes mixing in; and it did (I had been arguing that would even be possible under the right set of conditions, in the mid 40's, this was cooler than that if you would have looked at the Skew-T yourself). A freezing level just above 3,000 feet with that type of a temperature profile is most definitely not high enough to completely melt snowflakes. I don't care if you two don't agree with solid meteorological principles. Someone has a little more learning to do, especially before having the gall to try to refute something that is sound science.

If you were to read my post again....I clearly say that the places that got the mixture were most likely below 40F (meaning that I aknowledge that there was a mixture)...and in fact the places that did see the flurries were below 40F. I have not heard of any flurries in a 40F+ environment from this system.

[ocracoke]

Whoa there internet tough guy, I think there is a misunderstanding here. Yes, there were snow flurries in the Tampa Bay area, linkerweather has already explained that to me. I apologize.

Not trying to be a tough guy at all. I had been trying to explain that it was possible to see snowflakes in Tampa today, and a bunch of people weren't just hallucinating. I probably got a little carried away with my respose a few minutes ago, but was a bit insulted. I'm just a meteorologist offering my analysis on the situation.

[plainsman]

wheres the pics guys? if it did flurry in tampa i would think yall would have some pics.... yall knew about the event for like a week in advance ya know... its hard to believe if temps were in the mid 40s... if linker is a pro met im sure people sent pics into the news station..... even 37 its hard for snow to mix in...

[Tyler]

Whoa there internet tough guy, I think there is a misunderstanding here. Yes, there were snow flurries in the Tampa Bay area, linkerweather has already explained that to me. I apologize.

Not trying to be a tough guy at all. I had been trying to explain that it was possible to see snowflakes in Tampa today, and a bunch of people weren't just hallucinating. I probably got a little carried away with my respose a few minutes ago, but was a bit insulted. I'm just a meteorologist offering my analysis on the situation.

If you are a professional meteorologist, you should ask S2K for a pro met tag, that way people will know.

Me, I'm just a smart alleck kid who thinks he knows everything...

[Extremeweatherguy]

overall this event must have been very minor and very brief with few sightings. I just checked all major news network websites from Tampa and I can not find a story about the flurries on any of them.

[linkerweather]

wheres the pics guys? if it did flurry in tampa i would think yall would have some pics.... yall knew about the event for like a week in advance ya know... its hard to believe if temps were in the mid 40s... if linker is a pro met im sure people sent pics into the news station..... even 37 its hard for snow to mix in...

Good question. We had several emails from viewers but none with attached pics...I know for me, when I was outside taking my kid to the bus stop I actually did run back inside to get the camera but there were a few problems.....

First, it was over within minutes.
Second, There were sprinkles and an occassional snow flake mixed in. I would imagine that a few people did snap pics, but nothing would really come out. Try taking a pic of sprinkles with 2 snowflakes at 7 am (low sun angle...sun rise is at 7:10) with a flatly lit background (low overcast).

This is one of those things that you would just have to take the word of those that saw it.

[JonathanBelles]

wheres the pics guys? if it did flurry in tampa i would think yall would have some pics.... yall knew about the event for like a week in advance ya know... its hard to believe if temps were in the mid 40s... if linker is a pro met im sure people sent pics into the news station..... even 37 its hard for snow to mix in...

Good question. We had several emails from viewers but none with attached pics...I know for me, when I was outside taking my kid to the bus stop I actually did run back inside to get the camera but there were a few problems.....

First, it was over within minutes.
Second, There were sprinkles and an occassional snow flake mixed in. I would imagine that a few people did snap pics, but nothing would really come out. Try taking a pic of sprinkles with 2 snowflakes at 7 am (low sun angle...sun rise is at 7:10) with a flatly lit background (low overcast).

This is one of those things that you would just have to take the word of those that saw it.

i agree because i tried to take a pic but it didnt turn out

[PTPatrick]

I can vouch...snow often does not show up in pics. Christmas of 2004 as the snow came down on the bayou in Pascagoula, MS i tried to take a picture. Mind you this was not winter mix, but SNOW...SNOW that accumulated about 1/2 on my porch rails... The pictures showed nothing but grey haze in the air, but the snow on the rails did show up. Its like snow
in the air just does show up.

[Extremeweatherguy]

I can vouch...snow often does not show up in pics. Christmas of 2004 as the snow came down on the bayou in Pascagoula, MS i tried to take a picture. Mind you this was not winter mix, but SNOW...SNOW that accumulated about 1/2 on my porch rails... The pictures showed nothing but grey haze in the air, but the snow on the rails did show up. Its like snow
in the air just does show up.

yeah, and especially with small flakes. It will show up though once you see larger flakes or once you see it falling pretty heavily. Light flurries or small light flakes do not show up unless you have a good camera or a picture editor on your computer which will allow you to see them better.

[weathermom]

I don't know anything about Florida having only been there once about 35 years ago, but I do know that I have OFTEN seen flurries when temps are in the 40's. It is NOT rare to see them with 40ish temps in the northeast anyway......

I also just have to say, I really don't like to see anyone jump all over someone and tell them they are lying, you don't know what someone saw unless you were standing next to them, and even then you would often get conflicting stories, ask any cop.

[wxman22]

Weathermom how much snow did you receive at your house??

[JenyEliza]

wheres the pics guys? if it did flurry in tampa i would think yall would have some pics.... yall knew about the event for like a week in advance ya know... its hard to believe if temps were in the mid 40s... if linker is a pro met im sure people sent pics into the news station..... even 37 its hard for snow to mix in...

We had snow flurries all day on and off in Atlanta Sunday. I took pictures with my Kodak digital camera...but you can't see 'em, and there's no accumulation on the ground to prove it either.

Like others have said...in places where there's no snow on the ground, and it's not a raging snow shower or blizzard, its really hard to capture the flurries in pictures.

Are you going to tell me we didn't have snow flurries in Atlanta Sunday? I don't have any pics to prove it.

[JonathanBelles]

from Dixie hollins high: an official .oo1" of snow not much but it did snow and it can snow in the low 40's

[Extremeweatherguy]

from Dixie hollins high: an official .oo1" of snow not much but it did snow and it can snow in the low 40's

.001" can not even by measured...that is probably about the thickness of about a small snow flake...but it does show that a few flurries did fall at that school. At least one official report from this event.

[Tyler]

from Dixie hollins high: an official .oo1" of snow not much but it did snow and it can snow in the low 40's

Thats called a trace.

[Extremeweatherguy]

from Dixie hollins high: an official .oo1" of snow not much but it did snow and it can snow in the low 40's

Thats called a trace.

if even

[Cookiely]

Once when I lived in Birmingham, I went to get in the car and there were individual frozen snow flakes on the car. It wasn't snowing and no accumulations but it was evidence of it having snowed a little. I was so fascinated that I didn't want to start the car because I knew they would melt. I've seen snow flurries several times above freezing in Tampa but the strange thing was it was always at the Northgate mall.

[Cowhide]

And here I have been waiting for snow in my hometown almost all my life, and still NOTHING!

How is it possible to have snow flurries in other states with temperatures hovering around 40 while I sit here waiting almost 20 years for a glimmer of hope only to be insanely disappointed.

I thought it was finally going to happen. The NWS issued a very cold air mass to move through southern California on March 14, 2002 after a passing rain storm. The air mass had left over precipitation. A day before, I was preparing for it. Setting my alarm clock, cause I wouldn't miss it for the world. The news went bad when around 12:15AM showed the area of green on the radar getting smaller and smaller. I never really slept. I keep watching the weather channel all night long. THEN, The radar showed an area of green near the city of Santee CA. For those of you who don't know, Santee is only 456 feet above sea level. I was excited!! This was finally it! It was going to happen! TWC local forecast, I remember it perfectly said "Currently in your area.....28 degrees...under cloudy skies"

This was it!....After all those years it was finally going to happen. YES! And then the wind really started to pick up. I ran downstairs, grabbed my coat and headed outside at 4 in the morning. It was the coldest weather I ever felt. And I waited..a 15 second pause...The longest 15 seconds I've ever witnessed.I looked up, and then it started. It was hail at first. I said, al right, this must be the beginning. And then it rained. RAIN WTF!?!?
But it's 28 degrees outside! That makes no sense! Then the rain stopped, and the skies started to clear. WHAT??! to this day I can't get over it! How close we actually were. Last time the place saw snow was back in 1967, like almost 20 years before my time! It felt like when the Cubs blew game 6 of the 2003 NLCS. AAUUGGHH!