Once-in-a-lifetime southern snow eclipses records that stood for decades

Sun-soaked Florida and other southern towns appear to have shattered snowfall records in what many are calling a once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness sandy snowscapes on beaches, of all places.

So much of the white stuff piled up across the South that snowballs flew on Bourbon Street in New Orleans and children and parents who don’t own sleds used inflatable alligators, laundry baskets and yoga mats to slide down snow-covered Mississippi River levees.

Here’s a look at some of the heaviest snowfall totals around the South:

Milton, Florida

A whopping 9.8 inches (24.9 centimeters) of snow fell near the small town of Milton, Florida, which would smash the all-time Florida state record for snowfall from 1954, if confirmed.

“It’s an incredible, incredible event,” said Michael Mugrage, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mobile, Alabama, where many of the highest snowfall totals from the region were reported. “It puts it in perspective how rare this is.”

The snow total near Milton is unofficial for now, and will be reviewed by the state’s climate office.

Milton is just northeast of Pensacola, where the official total of 7.6 inches recorded at the airport shattered the city’s previous all-time snow record of 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) set in 1895.

New Orleans

Ten inches (25 centimeters) fell in some places in the New Orleans area, smashing the city’s record of 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) from 1963, the National Weather Service reported. There was also an unofficial report of 11.5 inches of snow in Saint Bernard Parish east of the city.

Houston

Up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow fell in the Houston area, a community that doesn’t own any snowplows. There was also a preliminary report of 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow near La Porte, Texas, southeast of Houston.

Charleston, South Carolina

More than 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow fell in the Charleston area, where snow closed the airport and the massive Ravenel Bridge. It closed since water freezes on the cables of the bridge, and then large chunks of ice can fall and smash vehicles below the cables, authorities said.

Mobile, Alabama

At Mobile Regional Airport, 6.2 inches (15.7 centimeters) was recorded, breaking the city’s one-day snowfall record of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) from Jan. 24, 1881, the weather service said. There were also several unofficial reports of more than 9 inches (23 centimeters) of snow in Gulf Coast communities outside Mobile.