TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – The Tampa Bay area is bracing for more than just a pirate invasion. The coldest air the region has felt in years arrives on Sunday, with most interior counties hitting freezing temperatures.
So, with freezing temperatures approaching, will even the the lightest snow showers fall in central Florida?
“Highly unlikely,” said WFLA Max Defender 8 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli.
But, Jeff… “not likely” means there’s a chance, doesn’t it? You’ve seen Dumb and DumberI suppose?
“For it to snow, the temperatures in the clouds – a few thousand feet up – have to be below freezing. To verify! This ingredient is present. Surface temperatures don’t have to be freezing (32°) for snow to fall, as long as the air above is cold enough that the flakes don’t melt. I saw it snowing with surface temperatures above 40°. Our surface temperatures will be in the low to mid 40s for most of Saturday at the Wilderness Coast. So technically it’s cold enough to snow – or at least for a few very wet flakes to reach the ground.
So wait…that means there’s a chance!
“Well, wait a minute, JB. We need one more ingredient and that is moisture,” Berardelli continued. “It looks like there may be some low level clouds moving off the Gulf of Mexico the first half of Saturday with the help of a gusty northwesterly wind. These are ” gulf clouds” caused by cold air blowing over mild water temperatures. And there MAY be JUST enough moisture to squeeze out a pinch, or even a flurry.
Jeff, I’ll be right back. Need to run to Target for snow shovel and boots. Might as well pick up eggs, toilet paper, water bottles…
“But the humidity is very limited. Later from Saturday to Sunday, the whole atmosphere will be dry, so if any snowflakes have a chance, they are expected to fall Saturday morning near the coast in the northern half of the Tampa Bay area. That said, the humidity is barely adequate and the temperatures are barely cold enough on the surface. And you need to be in the perfect spot and available to watch the gust. So, is there a chance that you personally see a flurry? Yes, technically there is a chance – an even better chance than winning the lottery.
Berardelli says the best chance of flurries will be Sunday morning and on the Nature Coast, where the chance is less than 10%. The odds in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and the surrounding Tampa Bay area are almost non-existent.
For those wondering if it might snow in Tampa. On Jan. 19, 1977, Tampa officially recorded 0.2 inches, but some areas received 1 to 2 inches of snow, Max Defender 8 meteorologists said.
The snow started late on January 18 and accumulated before sunrise on January 19. Temperatures dropped into the 30s. Snow was reported as far south as Venice.
Comments are closed.