TAMPA, Fla. — Some Floridians can now say for certain they have experienced a rare white Christmas in the Sunshine State.
The National Weather Service confirmed through a tweet on Sunday that parts of Brevard County received a bit of sleet, also known as ice pellets.
Orlando's WESH-TV reported that temperatures in Central Florida had dropped below freezing that morning and the sub-freezing temperatures, plus some precipitation, made the sleet possible.
"The majority of Florida's main cities have never experienced significant snowfall, but traces of it have been documented or airborne flurries have only sometimes been detected," the station wrote.
While it's been more than 40 years since the last time Tampa Bay received snow, it is possible to see.
In mid-January 1977, Tampa officially recorded .2 inches of snow. But, some areas east of Tampa received as much as 1 to 2 inches. It was the last time measurable snow fell.
Since 1890, there have only been two times when it has snowed enough to actually accumulate.
This past Christmas, the Tampa Bay area experienced one of the coldest Christmases it has seen since 1989 — 33 years ago, according to the National Weather Service.
According to the data from 1989, on Christmas Eve and Christmas, temperatures hit lows ranging from 27 to 32 degrees.
The cold temperatures can be blamed on a winter storm that's affecting most of the United States. The weather system dubbed a “bomb cyclone,” has disrupted travel and has caused hazardous winter conditions.
Bomb cyclones, as is the case with other storms, form due to contrasting air masses – one that’s very cold combined with another that’s very warm, according to The Associated Press.
