# Has it snowed everywhere in the lower 48? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 21, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400 "2001-08-21T19:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gwar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@gwar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwar)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/1 "2001-08-21T19:09:59Z")
Once upon a time, a teacher told us that it had snowed in every state except Florida. However, I watch the Weather Channel sometimes, and they seem to salivate over unusual weather phenomena. I can remember a couple of times it snowing in Northern Florida, and even once in the Orlando area (although it may have been sleet). With that, I was wondering if it had snowed everywhere, including South Florida. I know it has snowed in San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson, Houston, and New Orleans, but have never heard of it snowing in Miami. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/2 "2001-08-21T19:14:10Z")
Florida has definitely had _frost_. I don’t know if it snowed at that time, though. Part of the reason Florida is unique in this regard is that most of the hot states have high mountains, which are good for snow even if the weather in the populated areas is generally warm. Florida is very, very flat. ---
**Author:** ![Sultan\_Kinkari](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7bcc69/32.png) [@Sultan\_Kinkari](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sultan_Kinkari)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/3 "2001-08-21T19:14:46Z")
I know it has snowed as far south as Tampa/Sarasota but AFAIK it has never snowed in Miami/The Keys area. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/4 "2001-08-21T19:19:59Z")
Are we limited to the modern era? ---
**Author:** ![gwar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@gwar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwar)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/5 "2001-08-21T19:28:16Z")
Yeah, I am not wondering about the ice age or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/6 "2001-08-21T19:29:34Z")
They had snow in Miami in the mid-late 70’s. I remember it was on the cover of Time. First occurance that far south in recorded history. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/7 "2001-08-21T19:36:26Z")
Its snowed in Mexico a few years back, too. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/8 "2001-08-21T19:47:54Z")
Well, Mexico does have mountains, so that’s not too surprising. here’s a link regarding snow in Miami. Sorry it doesn’t have a lot more info. [http://www.ucda.com/CONFERENCES/miamibeach/miami.html](http://www.ucda.com/CONFERENCES/miamibeach/miami.html) ---
**Author:** ![cmburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@cmburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmburns)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/9 "2001-08-21T19:53:00Z")
This is just a guess, but I’d say the answer is probably yes it’s snowed in every state but not in all locations in every state. I lived in Tucson for several years and saw snowing falling on the desert there a couple of times, but Tucson is at a 3000ft elevation. Someplace like Death Valley that combines a low latitude, low elevation, and low precipitation would be an unlikely candidate for snow. ---
**Author:** ![cmburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@cmburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmburns)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/10 "2001-08-21T20:00:54Z")
A quick google search just showed me that Death Valley was a very bad example, at least for the mountains there, but I’ll stick with my point that there must be areas that are near sea-level,hot, and dry, so have never gotten snow. ---
**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/11 "2001-08-21T20:37:54Z")
Key West has never reported frost, ice sleet, or snow, according to this: [http://www.key-west.com/weather.htm](http://www.key-west.com/weather.htm) January 9, 1977 snow fell in Miami. [http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/columnists/fleischman/digdocs/028024.htm](http://www.miami.com/herald/content/news/local/columnists/fleischman/digdocs/028024.htm) ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/12 "2001-08-21T20:47:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Qadgop the Mercotan \* > \*\*Well, Mexico does have mountains, so that’s not too surprising. > \*\* Um, yeah. I knew that. I am talking away from the mountains somewhere near the coast. I guess I should have been more specific. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/13 "2001-08-21T21:25:36Z")
Juarez gets about four inches of snow a year, if the average cumulative annual snowfall for Las Cruces, New Mexico is any indication. It falls below freezing at night in the Chihuahuan Desert frequently during the winter. Combine a sub-freezing temperature with a bit of rain, and volia! – snow in Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/14 "2001-08-21T21:28:28Z")
Snow falls in Hawaii all the time (a couple of tall mountains), so I think we can establish that it has snowed in all 50 states, just not the lower 48 (I’ve heard a rumor of snow in Alaska, but have not been able to confirm). To expand it further, it has never snowed in Puerto Rico (that I can find note of) but there has been [snow](http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSHeyMartha0012/12_xmas-ap.html) _in_ Puerto Rico. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/15 "2001-08-21T23:02:52Z")
As others have pointed out here, it snowed in the Tampa Bay area in the late 1970s, then again about 10 years ago. There was a nasty cold front covering at least the eastern third of the country. We lived in Cincinnati at the time and were so happy to be going down to Florida for Christmas. It was an ambient -20 F in Cincinnati, my eyeballs were freezing as we loaded the car. Unfortunately it was only 10 F in Tampa when we arrived. The homes there are not built for that kind of weather, and frankly, neither are the people, so there were rolling brownouts to save the power grid. This reminds me of one of my favorite old _Doonesbury_ cartoons, where Uncle Duke is the governor of American Samoa. Things have been going badly, and Duke says “at least it can’t get any worse”. Just then snow begins to fall. He asks, “Is that snow?”, and his assistant replies, “Pay it no mind sir, it never sticks” In Tampa there was no accumulation to speak of, just some frosty spots on the grass. But I would guess that farther north they may have got a tiny bit of accumulation from time to time. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2001, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-it-snowed-everywhere-in-the-lower-48/77400/16 "2001-08-22T00:16:22Z")
In the 16 years I’ve lived in Charleston,SC, it usually has snowed at least a trace every year, and it had one 16-inch snowfall. They told me that they had a bigger snowfall before I moved here, in 1978, IIRC. The difference is that it doesn’t stay around long.