Winter Storm — Union, Florida

2018-01-03 · Union, Florida

Event narrative

At 7:13 am, the public reported freezing rain about 3 miles WSW of Lake Butler with sleet reported along Highway 231. At 11:50 am, the public reported light snow about 1 miles SW of Lake Butler.

Wider weather episode

An unseasonably deep cold airmass was in place across the southeast region. An area of low pressure deepened near the Bahamas during the day as a vigorous upper level trough swept over the region from the west. The upper level lift, cold airmass, and strong low level winds created an area of freezing precipitation across the forecast area, with freezing rain up to 0.50 thick across NE FL and SE GA generally south of Waycross, with a historic snowfall from Homerville to Waycross to Jesup northward with amounts of 2-4 inches and up to 6 inches. Widespread power outages occurred due to frozen precipitation and numerous roads were closed.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 726433. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.