Historic January 2025 snowstorm in the Southern U.S.

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By Nicole Collins.

An Arctic blast plunged into the southeastern United States on Sunday, January 19, arriving just in time for the on-average coldest stretch of the year. It brought record-breaking low temperatures and fueled a winter storm that dropped historic snowfall for parts of the South.

On January 22, Baton Rouge, LA, made it to 7 degrees, which is the airport’s coldest temperature since records began in 1930. (Earlier, pre-airport, data from Baton Rouge showed a two-day cold snap in 1899 when the temperature dropped to 2 degrees on February 13 and 7 degrees on February 14.) Lafayette, LA, was even colder at 4 degrees, a record low since records began in 1893. Finally, New Iberia, LA, saw 2 degrees, making it the site’s record-coldest temperature since its creation in 1948.

As the record-breaking cold set in, so did the historic snowfall. Texas saw the first snowflakes of the storm on the night of January 20 before the storm began its trek eastward. One of the most notable records from the state was the 4.5 inches that fell in the Beaumont-Port Arthur Area on January 21, making it the snowiest day for the site since it began its records in 1901.

Satellite image showing swath of snow across U.S. Southeast
As the storm tracked eastward, it continued to make history in Louisiana on both January 21 and 22. The National Weather Service office in Lake Charles, LA, issued its first blizzard warnings ever for portions of the state. On January 21, Baton Rouge recorded 7.6 inches, making it the site’s snowiest day since records began in 1892 while New Orleans saw its snowiest day since records began in 1948 with a total of 8.0 inches. On January 22, Thibodaux also saw its snowiest day since records began in 1893, with 8.5 inches of snow. Mobile, AL, hit a record snowfall of 7.5 inches on January 21, the most since the site’s creation in 1881. Finally, 10.0 inches was recorded near Pensacola, FL, on January 21, challenging the record for the snowiest day ever recorded in the state of Florida.

read more at climate.gov.

Image Credits: Temperatures were well below freezing (blue) across much of the U.S. Southeast on the morning of January 22, 2025. NOAA Climate.gov image, based on RTMA/URMA data.
Image Credits: Temperatures were well below freezing (blue) across much of the U.S. Southeast on the morning of January 22, 2025. NOAA Climate.gov image, based on RTMA/URMA data.