Florida Sees First Snow In Decades [VIDEO]

The Associated Press reports:

A brutal winter storm dumped snow in Tallahassee, Florida, on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three decades before slogging up the Atlantic coast and smacking Southern cities such as Savannah and Charleston, South Carolina, with a rare blast of snow and ice.

Forecasters warned that the same system could soon strengthen into a “bomb cyclone” as it rolls up the East Coast, bringing hurricane-force winds, coastal flooding and up to a foot of snow. At least 16 deaths were blamed on dangerously cold temperatures that for days have gripped wide swaths of the U.S. from Texas to New England.

A winter storm warning extended from the Gulf Coast of Florida’s “Big Bend” region all the way up the Atlantic coast. Forecasters said hurricane-force winds blowing offshore on Thursday could generate 24-foot (7-meter) seas.

Schools in the Southeast called off classes just months after being shut down because of hurricane threats, and police urged drivers to stay off the roads in a region little accustomed to the kind of winter woes common to the Northeast.

For the first time in 28 years, snow is falling in #Tallahassee. #TLHWinterStorm #StayWarm @LeonCounty @WFSUNews @abc27 @WCTV @skipfoster @TallyPD @cotfire @iFlyTallahassee @COTparks pic.twitter.com/KsIMWVDJGU

— City of Tallahassee (@COTNews) January 3, 2018