Snow in Florida: Flakes fly in Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE (FOX 13) - It’s a snow day in the Sunshine State.  As expected, chilly rain turned to snow this morning in northern Florida, closing part of Interstate 10 for several hours.

Video shared by the Tallahassee Police Department showed snow steadily falling in the state’s capital.  Traffic cameras across north-central Florida showed snowflakes falling, too, although it wasn’t much -- as of 8:30 a.m., the National Weather Service in Tallahassee was reporting a whopping 0.1 inches of “snow/sleet accumulation” on the roof of their building.

"As exciting as this is, please use extreme caution if you are driving [and] don’t expose yourself to the cold for too long without proper gear," TPD tweeted.

Yesterday, those same NWS forecasters issued their first winter storm warning in four years, suggesting that snow was likely from Tallahassee to Perry to Lake City, and on up into southern Georgia.

In preparation, the mayor of Jacksonville closed city offices to all but essential personnel, advising people to stay off the roads. In Tallahassee, Florida State University announced that classes would remain closed Wednesday.

This morning, troopers closed a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 10 east of Tallahassee due to ice. Several law enforcement agencies issued warnings to drivers to be extra careful on slick roads.

The last time Tallahassee had measurable snow was 1989.

Further south, no snow is expected in the Tampa Bay area, but a chilly rain soaked Central Florida this morning.  Temperatures will remain far below normal for the next several days, with freezing conditions likely in our northern counties.

LINK: Wednesday afternoon Tampa Bay weather forecast