Earlier this week, we wrote about the last time there was significant snowfall in the Tampa Bay area. If you missed it, it hasn’t happened since 1977.
Let’s start with a quick recap:
- A cold front whipped through Florida 46 years ago leading to one to two inches of snowfall in parts of the Tampa Bay area.
- Snow fell overnight between Jan. 18 + Jan. 19 and was found as far south as Miami.
- The event caused havoc, with the Tampa Bay Times reporting ~200 road accidents and 79 hospitalizations.
Do you recognize the Kennedy Bridge?
Photo via @rubencapote49
Here are your memories:
- Sherry M. remembers it vividly: “I was six years old and remember my neighbors knocking on our door very early that morning, shouting ‘get up it’s snowing!’ My brother and I ran outside in t-shirts, shorts and sneakers to play... It was wonderful! We made little snowballs, and of course tasted it. I always have hope now that it may snow again in Tampa Bay!” Us too, Sherry. Us too.
- Joe P. said: “I was a senior at the University of South Florida’s campus in Tampa then and remember it well.” It was Joe’s first time ever seeing snow.
- Ned D. and his two sisters scraped snow from bumpers, hoods, tailgates, and the back of truck beds. They made little snowballs and fought with them and also made some to put in their freezer. Ned said, “schools were closed” and “everything pretty much shut down in Tampa Bay.”
- Sally M. remembers a picture her mother took of her as a one-year-old in the snow.
- Larkilita M. remembers a snowfall in 1963 when she was a third-grader at Skyview Elementary — “our teacher let us go out and catch the flakes.” Larkilita also remembers snow flurries in 1989, although this event was only a dusting.
Thank you to everyone who wrote in. We’d love to read even more stories — get in touch .