A major winter storm is forecast to blanket the Gulf of America from southeast Texas to northern Florida with a significant snowfall by southern U.S. standards. The storm has prompted the National Weather Service to issue Winter Storm Warnings while Governors have issued a State of Emergency for their Gulf coast states.
Governor Kay Ivey issued a State of Emergency for 39 counties in Alabama ahead of the storm while Louisiana Governor Tate Reeves did the same for all of Mississippi. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry also declared a state of emergency and thanked Arkansas for sending them 12 dump trucks with snow plows. Most southern states have no snow plows or any snow removal equipment.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis also declared a state of emergency where significant snow is expected to blanket the northern part of his state. “WHEREAS, an area of low pressure moving across the Gulf of America, interacting with Arctic air, will bring widespread impactful winter weather to North Florida beginning Tuesday, January 21, 2025,” the DeSantis executive order states declaring the weather situation an emergency.
Newly sworn-in President Trump signed an executive order re-naming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Presidents have the authority to rename geographic regions and features by way of executive order; the U.S. Board of Geographic Names has jurisdiction for geographic names.
A bitterly cold arctic airmass is currently in place for locations east of the Rockies with well below average temperatures extending from the High Plains to the East Coast. Wind chill values of 40 to 55 degrees below zero will linger within the core of the coldest air from the northern Plains into the Upper Mississippi Valley through Tuesday morning. Wind chill values that are below zero will affect a broad portion of the lower 48 extending from the southern High Plains into the Ohio River Valley and northern Mid-Atlantic region with wind chills in the teens and single digits possible for portions of the Gulf Coast. These extreme cold conditions will pose a risk of hypothermia to individuals not dressed appropriately as well pose potential for frozen pipes and damage to sensitive vegetation.
This Arctic air outbreak is also setting the stage for a rare winter storm to develop along the Gulf of America coast. With the cold air in place, wintry precipitation is expected to overspread south-central Texas to the central Gulf Coast tonight as an upper level disturbance passes over the southern Plains. Snow or a snow/sleet mix is likely for cities from San Antonio to Houston and New Orleans to Albany, Georgia while freezing rain falls on South Texas and portions of southern Georgia and northern Florida as the unusual winter storm tracks east on Tuesday/Tuesday night. A narrow stripe of 4-6″ will be possible from southeastern Texas into southern Louisiana which is very heavy snow by southern standards, especially with many of these locations lacking any snow removal equipment.
Light accumulations of snow are expected from the Florida Panhandle to the beaches of the Carolinas.
“This winter storm is likely to result in major travel disruptions, including significant traffic impacts on area highways, power outages as well as flight delays/cancellations for these areas that are not accustomed to impactful winter weather,” the National Weather Service said today.
The major international airport in Houston, Texas, the George Bush International Airport, has already announced plans to close the airport for all operations on Tuesday. United Airlines, which has a major presence as a hub at this airport, announced a winter weather waiver that will allow people scheduled to be flying in/through the Houston area to make changes to their travel plans without incurring additional fees.
