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Thirty-five years ago today, a half-inch of snow fell across Tampa Bay and flurries were spotted as far south as Miami.
Joyce Till's kids raced outside at midnight to stick their tongues out as the flakes fell. The next morning, they found a blanket of snow on the lawn that was melting fast.
"They gathered the snow off the windshields and made a snowman," she recalled. "It stayed till about 10 a.m. and then it was gone."
News of snow in Florida spread around the world.
Schools closed. Bridges froze and cars collided. Power outages were widespread and the demand for heat almost caused a blackout.
With crop damages in the millions, Gov. Reubin Askew asked the federal government to declare Florida an agricultural disaster area.
"We all still talk about that time every now and then," said Till, now 76.
Snow flurries have dropped in on Tampa Bay since — most notably in December 1989 — but not enough to be recorded.
This winter has been milder than normal with the ninth-warmest December on record, according to the National Weather Service in Ruskin.
Statistically noteworthy, perhaps, maybe even grist for a climate change debate, but hardly as exciting as learning to make snowballs with socks for mittens.
Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
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