Snow in Tampa: Residents woke up to winter wonderland 47 years ago
TAMPA, Fla. - Temperatures may have dropped this week, plunging into the 40s and 50s, but they didn’t dip as low as on January 19, 1977, when parts of the Bay Area were blanketed in snow.
Forty-seven years ago, Jeannette Tamborello remembers hearing FOX 13 Meteorologist Roy Leep say that there was the possibility of snow in the forecast.
She says the snowy mention seemed to be more of a comment than part of his regular forecast, but Tamborello just knew it was going to snow.
She set her alarm for 1 a.m. and when she woke up there was no snow. She set it every hour afterward and kept looking out the window full of hope. Around 5 a.m., she saw what she had been waiting for - snow!
Tamborello says she woke up her husband and her daughter, who was six years old at the time. She dressed her daughter in her coat, gloves, and socks over her nightgown and the three of them walked outside into a winter wonderland.
Tamborello recalls she and her husband being as excited as their daughter.
The trio built a little snowman, took photos, and played outside until it was time to get ready for work and school.
Jeannette Tamborello and her daughter Jodi built a snowman on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Jeannette Tamborello.
Like Tamborello, Thomas Kaspar will never forget the day it snowed in Tampa.
He said the look of the flakes swirling around before the sun came up is unforgettable, especially in typically hot Carrollwood.
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He estimates that about 5–6 inches of snow was on the ground that day, and it lasted until the afternoon.
Tampanians enjoy a snowball fight on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Thomas Kaspar.
Why did it snow in Tampa?
The snow on January 19, 1977, was seen as far south as Homestead and even fell on Miami Beach, according to the National Weather Service.
According to NWS, the snowfall was at the tail end of a strong Arctic cold front that moved rapidly down the state from late January 18 to early January 19.
NWS states that Tampa got .20 inches of snow while Plant City recorded two inches.
‘Magical’ Day
The .20 inches of snow that fell was more than enough to make a lifetime impression on Mario Nuñez.
Nuñez had just turned 18 years old and had never seen snow before.
He says he remembers his mother waking him up around 6 a.m. and telling him it was snowing outside.
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Nuñez says he was almost in a trance because he was so excited. The first thing he wanted to do was tell his grandmother who lived a few blocks away.
Mario Nunez holds two snowballs as snow blankets the ground in Tampa on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Mario Nunez.
Dressed in flannel pajamas, Nuñez says he threw on a pair of Converse shoes and ran two-and-a-half blocks down the street in the dark to his grandmother’s house.
She had lived in New York for several years, so snow wasn’t anything unusual for her, but it was simply ‘magical’ to him.
He said she was alarmed at first because it was unusual for him to be banging on her door before dawn, but she felt more at ease as he shouted, "Abuela! It’s snowing!"
Teens play in the Tampa snow on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Thomas Kaspar.
In the midst of all the excitement, Nuñez says it took him a moment to realize he was outside in his pajamas.
He excitedly ran back home, changed clothes, and called his buddies.
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Nuñez shared that watching the Green Bay Packers, the Chicago Bears, and the Minnesota Vikings play football in the snow was the epitome of the NFL at the time. That’s why he and his friends decided to put on their football gear and play ball in the snow. He said they couldn't go sledding because there aren't any hills in Tampa, and they didn't have a sled.
Teens hold snowballs on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Thomas Kaspar.
Nuñez, along with many Tampanians, also recall a lot of traffic crashes happening on that day.
He said he lived on Cass Street, and while he and his buddies were playing football in a field near I-275, they heard tires screech followed by the sound of a car crashing into the guardrail constantly throughout the day because there was ice on the overpass, and nobody knew how to drive on ice.
Nuñez is 65 now and thought this year might be the year Tampa saw snow again because of the El Niño pattern and how low the temperatures dropped this week.
"We’re just waiting for the next snowfall," he said.
Teens have snowball fight on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Thomas Kaspar.
Will it snow this year in Tampa?
FOX 13 Meteorologist Dave Osterberg says Nuñez may be out of luck this year when it comes to seeing snow on the ground in Tampa.
He says with an El Niño, the Bay Area tends to see cooler temperatures and more rain, but it’s not quite good enough for snow.
According to Osterberg, in order for it to snow in the Bay Area, a tremendous amount of arctic air needs to arrive while the precipitation is still around.
Courtesy: Adis Diaz
He says a massive cold front would have to come through and drop temperatures below freezing ahead of a disturbance that would bring precipitation. The problem, according to Osterberg, is that there needs to be clear skies at night in order to get freezing temperatures at the surface.
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Plus, the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico don’t help increase the chances for snow.
Osterberg says having the Gulf of Mexico right next to us, combined with the whole atmosphere having to drop below freezing, makes it difficult for the Bay Area to get snow, even in an El Niño pattern.
"I would never say never, but it's hard around here," Osterberg stated.
Winter Wonderland
Though the possibility of seeing snow this year may be low, the memory of the 1977 snowfall keeps hope alive for many Tampanians.
For Tampa natives, like Nunez and D.C. Goutoufas, January 19, 1977, was the first time they had seen snow.
Goutoufas says though he doesn’t have any photos from that snowy day, the memory is etched in his mind forever.
Tampa residents pose with a snowman on Jan. 19, 1977. Credit: Carolyn Dean.
His family has been in Tampa since 1887, and he says none of his ancestors had seen snow in the area before 1977.
Goutoufas recalled his parents coming to the breakfast table and shouting that it was snowing outside.
"My sister, brother, and I ran outside to see it. It was amazing!" Goutoufas exclaimed 47 years later.
A car is covered in snow in Tampa on Jan. 19, 1977. Image is courtesy of Thomas Kaspar.
He remembers fondly having snowball fights with his friends and siblings.
"It was a big deal, and such a beautiful day!" Goutoufas added. "Our neighborhood was truly a winter wonderland!"
Courtesy: Karen DiFranco
Goutoufas went on to share that he and his brother would try to recreate the magic by turning on the sprinklers during the winter months when there was a freeze warning, but it didn’t work.
"They were the good old days for sure," Goutoufas shared. "Moments like that live inside you for a lifetime."