Atlanta Snow Shuts Down Highways
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We're used to seeing parts of the northern U.S.,Europe and Asia get slammed with snowstorms each winter season.
But on rare occasions,cold air becomes so expansive that typically snow-free places see at least a few flakes of snow. Other locations are simply snowier than you might think.
Here are some of the surprising places that can see snow.
South Padre Island,Texas
The first thing that came to mind when you saw South Padre was the beach,right? Maybe that was one of your spring break trips in college.
In 2004,Deep South Texas saw a stunning white Christmas when a vigorous upper-level disturbance overlapped a strong arctic cold front.
It was the first day of measurable snowfall since 1895 in Brownsville,Texas,the same latitude as Miami – on Christmas Day,no less.
This was the heaviest 24-hour snow on record in nearby Victoria,Texas (12.5 inches),and the snowstorm of record in Corpus Christi (4.4 inches).
Almost 13 years later,Winter Storm Benji dumped over 7 inches of snow in Corpus Christi and was not only a rare snow in Brownsville,but also a rare December snow in Austin,San Antonio and College Station.
And during the siege of Arctic air in February 2021,measurable snow fell as far south as Brooks County,Texas. Though it wasn't measurable – at least 0.1 inches – a mix of snow and sleet coated the tops of vehicles in the Lower Rio Grande Valley,including Brownsville.
(Further beef up your forecast with our detailed,hour-by-hour breakdown for the next 8 days – only available on our Premium Pro experience.)
New Orleans
Heat,humidity,heavy rain and hurricanes. Those seem to be the weather brands associated with "The Big Easy."
But New Orleans has had eight days of measurable snow at Louis Armstrong International Airport since 1948,according to the National Weather Service. A few of those have happened this century.
On Dec. 11,2008, the Crescent City saw its earliest 1-inch snow of any season on record,though not officially at the airport. Baton Rouge picked up 3 inches and nearby Amite,Louisiana,piled up 8 inches. At its peak,83,000 customers were left without power due to the storm.
New Orleans also picked up a half-inch of snow on Christmas Day 2004,the same storm that surprised Deep South Texas.
The king of New Orleans'snowstorms,however,was an 8-inch dumping on Feb. 14-15,1895. According to weather historian Christopher Burt,this same storm produced snow flurries as far south as Tampico,Mexico (22 degrees north latitude),the most southerly sea-level snowfall below the Tropic of Cancer in the Western Hemisphere.
South Florida
While snow is much less unusual in northern Florida,illustrated recently by Winter Storm Grayson in January 2018 and Winter Storm Benji in early December 2017,it is exceedingly rare in South Florida.
In early January 2010,flurries and sleet were noted from West Palm Beach to the Miami suburb of Kendall.
The signature South Florida snow event in recent history was the January 1977 cold wave.
West Palm Beach picked up its first snow on record on Jan. 19,1977. Flurries danced across the sky in Homestead,south of Miami,the southernmost location in the continental U.S. to see snow of any kind.
Prior to that,a massive arctic outbreak in February 1899 squeezed out some snow as far south as Fort Myers.
Los Angeles
The Los Angeles Basin is hemmed in by mountains. Typically once each winter,snow levels drop to a couple thousand feet in a cold storm system,bringing snow to parts of the Santa Monica Mountains and lower hills.
This occurred as recently as 2007,when Malibu received a dusting of snow.
But to get snow down to the valley floors is truly remarkable,and it hasn't happened since 1962,according to an excellent summary of L.A. snow events by KCET.
Measurable snow in downtown L.A. has occurred only three times since California statehood,most recently on Jan. 9,1949,according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Glendale College students pelted each other with snowballs in that 1949 storm.
On Jan. 15,1932,a 2-inch snowfall was the record heaviest snow documented in the city center.
The other event occurred on Jan. 12,1882. Imagine that happening on Oscar night.
Las Vegas
Searing summer heat may be Sin City's calling card,but winter can be surprisingly cold at times.
The floor of the Vegas Valley is about 2,200 feet above sea level,just high enough to allow snow to make it to the ground on rare occasions.
Measurable snow has fallen only four days this century on the valley floor at the NWS office near Harry Reid International Airport.
That most recently happened in February 2019,when parts of the Vegas Valley were blanketed by snow twice in a week. December 2008 (3.6 inches) and December 2003 (1.3 inches) were the only other snow events on the Vegas Strip.
They've had even heavier snowstorms,though.
On Jan. 31,1979,a whopping 7.4 inches of snow was measured at the airport,their heaviest one-day snowfall on record,according to the NWS.
Their snowstorm of record was a 9.7-inch snow siege from Jan. 10 to 12,1949. Measurable snow remained on the ground eight days after the storm ended.
Snow is much more common in the high country surrounding the valley. Mt. Charleston,an almost 12,000-foot peak about 30 miles west-northwest of the Vegas Strip,averages 100 inches of snow each year.
Hawaii
Yes,it does snow in paradise. You just have to be atop Hawaii's tallest peaks.
Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa,slumbering volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii,are the highest points in the Hawaiian Islands at over 13,000 feet above sea level. Given the elevation,sufficient snow covers the summits at least once each winter.
The combination of snow and high winds over the summits can create whiteout conditions. In a mid-February 2019 storm,a peak wind gust of 191 mph was clocked at the Canada France Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) station atop Mauna Kea,according to the National Weather Service.
Sometimes snow also blankets Haleakala on Maui since it rises to 10,000 feet. That happened in the mid-February 2019 storm,which was so cold it produced graupel or small hail as low as 6,200 feet elevation in Polipoli State Park.
Although it snows most often in winter at these highest elevations,it can happen year-round. A dusting of snow was observed at Mauna Kea in July 2015.
Mexico City
At roughly the same latitude as Hawaii's Mauna Kea,but only at an elevation of 7,940 feet,you figure Mexico's capital city would be snow-free.
Most winters,it's not uncommon to see the surrounding hillsides in a blanket of white.
However,there have been two instances of snow in Mexico City itself: Jan. 12,1967,and March 5,1940.
More recently,snow fell in Guadalajara,Mexico,in December 1997,at an elevation roughly 2,800 feet lower than Mexico City.
La Paz,Bolivia
As we inch closer to the equator than Mexico City or Mauna Kea,that would seemingly diminish the chance of snow.
However,at just under 12,000 feet above sea level in a high Andean mountain valley,La Paz,Bolivia,makes up in altitude what it lost in latitude.
The world's highest-elevation capital city does see snow,just not a lot of it that sticks around long. Generally speaking,winters are rather dry there.
Madagascar
Known more for its heavy summer rainfall,sometimes the result of tropical cyclones,Madagascar can also turn surprisingly chilly in the Southern Hemisphere's winter season.
The world's fourth-largest island has broad plateaus and massifs,where snow may occasionally accumulate and remain for days.
This is not a concern in the capital of Antananarivo.
However,in its dry winter,temperatures can cool below 50 degrees at night,quite a feat for a location at this latitude.
Tehran,Iran
Perhaps snow and the Middle East don't seem to mesh. Triple-digit heat,occasional oppressive humidity (even in the desert) and those infamous sandstorms may pop to mind.
Tehran is roughly the same latitude as Asheville,North Carolina (35.6 degrees north),and just over 1,700 feet higher. Average highs in January are only in the mid-40s. That leaves the door open just enough for snow.
In early January 2008,heavy snow and a subsequent cold wave shut down the city. Almost three years earlier,up to 39 inches of snow on the city's northern edge required the use of 10,000 bulldozers to keep the main roads passable.
Just over 10 years later,up to 4 feet of snow hammered parts of Iran in January 2018,stranding motorists,shutting down airports and closing schools.
North of the city,the Alborz Mountains are blanketed in snow each winter. You can hit the slopes at the Dizin ski resort.
Baghdad,Iraq
The Iraqi capital city seems unlikely to ever pick up snow.
Unlike Tehran,it doesn't have the benefit of altitude to make it easier for snow to reach the ground before melting. Baghdad is only about 100 feet above sea level.
But on Feb. 11,2020,an upper-level swirl of low pressure moved through early in the morning,when temperatures were just cold enough to allow a light dusting of wet snow to coat trees,vehicle tops and other parts of Baghdad and the nearby city of Karbala.
It was only the second time in a century that snow had accumulated in Baghdad. 2008 was the only other occurrence in recent history.
Kids took advantage of this rare opportunity to build a snowman and throw snowballs. But temperatures warmed quickly and by the afternoon,the snow had melted.
Northern Africa
Snow may be the last thing you'd think of in northern Africa,home to the world's largest non-polar desert that's roughly the size of the entire United States.
Stretching from Morocco across northern Algeria to northern Tunisia,the Atlas Mountains soar to heights up to 13,671 feet elevation. These higher peaks see snow every winter,particularly when stronger,colder storms in the Mediterranean Sea brush northern Africa.
For some lower desert elevations,snow is rarer.
In January 2021,the town of Ain Sefra,Algeria,saw snowfall,coating the desert sand in a blanket of white.
Egypt is typically snow-free in winter,except for occasionally some of the higher peaks of the Sinai Peninsula.
However,a freak snowstorm on Dec. 13,2013,dropped a blanket of snow in Cairo,the city's first reported snow in a century,according to local reports.
Sometimes,Saharan dust is caught up in large storm systems over parts of Europe. This dust can coat snow in the Alps and other mountain ranges in orange,as was the case in March 2018.
Dubai
How did a tropical desert climate with average January highs in the 70s,its coldest month,make it into this article?
In Dubai,there's one place where there's snow indoors year-round.
In November 2005,at a cost of $272 million,Ski Dubai opened,the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East.
Despite summer outdoor temperatures in the 110s,temperatures inside are kept around 30 degrees during the day and around 21 degrees at night,when snowmaking occurs. Imagine paying that cooling bill.
You can choose from five different ski runs,including a black run for expert skiers,with both quad and tow lifts.
If skiing or snowboarding isn't your thing,grab a sled or toboggan and check out the terrain park. They even offer penguin encounters.
Conveniently enough,jackets are included in the cost of admission. Because who would pack winter clothes for a trip to Dubai in July?
Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at www.weathernow24.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky,X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook.
