Satellite Image Shows US South Blanketed in Snow

Satellite imagery shared by the National Weather Service shows the extent of snow that fell across the U.S. south this week.

On Wednesday, the NWS Weather Prediction Center posted the imagery to X, formerly Twitter, which appeared to have been captured in the afternoon. Rare winter storms hit a swath of the Southern U.S. this week, with the NWS issuing winter storm warnings and even blizzard warnings in multiple states.

Why It Matters

The NWS has dubbed the snowstorm experienced in the South as “historic.” Florida’s 24-hour snowfall record was broken this week, after more than double the amount of snow from the previous record fell near Milton, in Santa Rosa County.

However, heavy winter weather can disrupt travel and create hazardous driving conditions, and freezing temperatures could also present health risks, especially for vulnerable groups—including infants and older adults.

What To Know

The image showed a blanket of snow from Eastern Texas, Southern Louisiana, and parts of the Florida Panhandle, extending northwards along parts of Georgia and the Carolinas.

In Florida, at least 8.8 inches fell, more than doubling the previous record—also set in Milton, in 1954, when it was 4 inches.

Elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, records were broken in New Orleans, where snowfall reached up to 8 inches. This surpassed the previous all-time record of 2.7 inches set in 1963 by over 5 inches.

In Louisiana’s Acadiana region, temperatures plummeted to 2 degrees Fahrenheit, marking the lowest reading ever recorded for the area since record-keeping began in 1893.

At time of writing, parts of Southern Texas, Eastern North Carolina, Northern Florida and Southeast Georgia were under either winter weather advisory or freeze warning from the NWS.

What People Are Saying

NWS Climate Prediction Center said on X: “Sun rising over the Gulf Coast this morning unveils a blanket of fresh snowfall from southeast Texas to the eastern Carolinas.”

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines told Newsweek: “There were several reports of more than 4 inches of snow (previous state record for Florida) in the panhandle of Florida, west of Tallahassee.”

National Weather Service said on X: “Here’s something you don’t see, well, EVER! On January 22, Florida and Louisiana have more snowpack than *checks notes*

“*checks notes again*

South Dakota.”

NWS Binghampton said on X: “The south has received fresh snowpack from a historic storm while areas in the Midwest remain bare. In the Northeast, we continue to hang onto our snowpack thanks to below freezing conditions for most of January.”