Cities in the Florida Panhandle, including Marianna and Pensacola, were lucky early Sunday morning, Jan. 18, waking up to a brief, but exciting dusting of snow. The National Weather Service reported that as of 5:53 a.m., .09 inches of snow had accumulated over the previous six hours at Pensacola International Airport.

Just before 8 a.m. local time, snow flurries dusted the Florida panhandle, with areas such as DeFuniak Springs and Ponce de Leon in Holmes County seeing flakes, as well as Walton County, according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s FL511.

When the frigid rain pushed through, neither sleet nor snowflake nor slush was spotted in Florida's capital city. But it wasn't a bust for everyone.

This past weekend, places like Pensacola, Florida and Macon, Georgia saw more snow than parts of our area did. WRAL viewer, Michael Warren, asked, "I would love to know how it snows in Florida and in Clinton NC we can only get rain. How does the cold front get to Florida before it gets here?"

Here's a look at photos and videos of snowfall from Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. FLORIDA, USA — Parts of the Florida Panhandle reported snow starting early Sunday morning, in a typically rare event for the Sunshine State that's now happened two years in a row .

Officials across Northwest Florida are warning residents that the frigid rain and short-lived snow will be followed by a hard freeze overnight for many areas. That means motorists driving on Jan. 19 should be vigilant for somewhat hazardous travel if ice forms on roads and bridges.

Snow blankets the Florida Panhandle as a major winter storm creates hazardous road conditions and record-setting cold temperatures.

A sudden lake effect snow storm resulted in a stretch of dozens of wrecked vehicles along the side of a highway near Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the same arctic weather pattern has brought unusually frigid weather as far south as Florida.

SO YES, IT’S A COLD ONE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT, AT LEAST IN OUR NORTHERN SPOTS, THE THREAT OF FREEZING TEMPERATURES. NOW, HERE’S THE THING. FROST IN OUR MORE SHELTERED LOCATIONS, A THING WHERE IT’S NOT NECESSARILY SHELTERED.