It’s an unbelievable anniversary today in Tampa Bay. A "snow"-versary.
It was 44 years ago, on January 19, 1977, that it snowed. Not the kind of snow you see at malls at Christmas. Not the kind of snow you see on trucked-in sledding slopes. Real snow falling from the sky.
It snowed on palm trees. It snowed on beaches. And not just flurries falling down. This snow accumulated. It could be measured. In some parts of Tampa Bay, it was measured in inches.
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.
The snow started late on Jan. 18 and accumulated before sunrise on Jan. 19. Since 1890, there have only been two times where it has snowed enough to actually accumulate.
In fact, there have only been about 11 times where snowflakes have even been reported. So snow in this part of Florida is very rare.
That 1977 morning in January was an exciting one for Tampa Bay area kids, but it was not so welcomed by drivers. According to the Tampa Bay Times, there were thousands of crashes throughout the state as Floridians tried to negotiate their cars on icy roads, many for the first time.
The governor at the time, Gov. Reubin Askew, even declared a state of emergency.
If you slept in that morning, you may have missed it all and not even believed it, as temperatures quickly warmed, and it all melted away.
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