“Once in a Lifetime” Storm Drops Snow on Gulf Coast (Video)

Residents of the Gulf Coast states woke up on Tuesday morning to something very rare – snow, and lots of it. An unprecedented blizzard hit the region, befuddling both denizens and meteorologists.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for a lot of these folks down there. For kids that have never had snowball fights … they’re going to have one,” said Tom Kines, a meteorologist for AccuWeather.

And scenes from the snow storm, which blanketed beaches, began pouring out on social media:

Click here to watch the video.

While typically, the United States Gulf Coast is better known for its hurricanes. Like, for example, Hurricane Helene from last September. That one brought devastation to the region from Florida to Georgia to North Carolina to Tennessee. Or Hurricane Idalia from the year before, which, with the destruction, also brought unnaturally pumping surf to a small stretch of Alabama coastline.

It's a much different scene, however, with this storm.

Per National Public Radio, here’s some background on the blizzard: “The storm is being powered by a unique blend of arctic air dropping down from the north, as a low-pressure system draws large amounts of moisture onshore from the Gulf of Mexico. The resulting winter storm's track is similar to a tropical storm, as it carves an icy path from the Gulf Coast to Georgia and the Carolinas.”