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Florida
The Florida Panhandle has a 50% chance of snow on Tuesday. Latest forecast
A blast of Siberian air and back-to-back winter storms will send subfreezing temperatures in the 20s across North Florida and bring a high chance of snow to the Florida Panhandle and a portion of the Big Bend and Jacksonville areas.
“The cold outbreak will occur right smack in the middle of what is historically the coldest part of the winter,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Bob Larson said.
The first of two winter storms expected to impact the southeastern United States will bring showers and a possible thunderstorm to the Florida Panhandle starting late Friday night and continuing through Saturday, according to AccuWeather.
The second winter storm will be colder and snowier – even in Florida, which is the only contiguous U.S. state not to see snow this winter.
North Florida has a 50% chance of snow
The National Weather Service and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast model are now in agreement as the chance of snow creeps to 50% in the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday.
The chance of snow diminishes eastward across the Sunshine State. Tallahassee has a slight chance of rain and snow showers before 10 a.m. on Tuesday and a possible mix of rain and snow later that night. The ECMRWF model puts those chances around 30-40%.
Jacksonville does not currently have a chance of snow, according to the NWS, but the ECMRWF model shows a sliver of a chance, between 10-20%.
How cold will it get in Florida?
Much of Florida will avoid the worst parts of the chill, according to AccuWeather. North Florida will see the coldest temperatures, but freezing temperatures will likely be felt even in Central Florida, too.
Here’s a look at temperatures in some of Florida’s regional hubs, according to AccuWeather’s Forecast:
- Pensacola
- Sunday: High 54, low 25
- Monday: High 43, low 28
- Tuesday: High 39, low 21
- Wednesday: High 41, low 29
- Tallahassee
- Sunday: High 60, low 27
- Monday: High 47, low 32
- Tuesday: High 47, low 24
- Wednesday: High 43, low 24
- Jacksonville
- Sunday: High 67, low 35
- Monday: High 47, low 39
- Tuesday: High 48, low 31
- Wednesday: High 45 low 35
- Orlando
- Sunday: High 71, low 45
- Monday: High 53, low 46
- Tuesday: High 58, low 39
- Wednesday: High 57, low 45
- Tampa
- Sunday: High 73, low 47
- Monday: High 58, low 45
- Tuesday: High 57, low 39
- Wednesday: High 54, low 42
- Miami
- Sunday: High 81, low 65
- Monday: High 70, low 66
- Tuesday: High 74, low 61
- Wednesday: High 66, low 63
Why is snow so rare in Florida?
The most basic answer is that subfreezing temperatures in Florida tend to be brought on by cold fronts, which generally produce dry air.
Florida’s best chance of seeing snow happens when a storm pulls in moisture from the Gulf of Mexico while cold air is being pushed from the north. Of course, if cold air is moving south, it’s likely pushing that moisture away from Florida, hence the conundrum.
The more complicated reason snow is rare in Florida is almost everything about Florida, from its geographical features to its proximity to the equator, discourages the conditions needed for snow.
Florida’s warm temperatures are the first problem. The second issue is that Florida, the Sunshine State, gets a lot of sunlight because of how close it is to the equator. That sunlight and warmer temperatures tend to keep sustained cold air at bay, preventing it from amassing in quantities for snow to form.
Florida is also a pretty flat state, and its highest point, Britton Hill, is only about 345 feet above sea level. That doesn’t give cold air a lot of places to hang out.
Lastly, there’s the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is a relatively warm body of water, and it acts as a large temperature moderator for Florida.
What’s needed for snow to form?
The conditions required to produce snow are typically generalized. Most people know that it needs to be at or below 32 degrees, which is considered the threshold for water to freeze. That’s not the only condition where snow can form, however.
Snow can still form even in temperatures as high as 33.8 degrees. There are occasions when a higher layer of atmosphere is slightly above freezing where the snowflake might start to melt as it passes through that layer but can still make it to the ground as snow.
Another special case is referred to as the “wet bulb” effect. The wet bulb temperature is the temperature air reaches when water evaporates into it. Snow can still manage to form if the height where the wet bulb temperature reaches freezing is less than 1,500 above the ground.
In both special circumstances, the snow will be wetter and stickier than traditional fluffy and dry snow.
Florida
Traffic stop goes viral after Florida deputy accuses driver missing right hand of holding phone
PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Video of a traffic stop in Palm Beach County is going viral over an awkward exchange between the driver and a deputy who accused her of holding a phone while driving.
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“You drove past me holding a phone with your right hand, manipulating that phone,” the deputy tells 36-year-old Kathleen “Katie” Thomas.
“Obviously not,” Thomas says while laughing and holding up her right arm, showing that she’s missing her right hand.
“So you wanna call this a day?” she asks.
“I don’t want to call this a day. You had a hand up, manipulating,” the deputy responds.
“You just said my right hand,” Thomas counters.
“Well, I thought I saw your right hand,” the deputy says.
“So you didn’t,” Thomas responds.
Thomas posted the bodycam footage on Instagram and TikTok where it gained millions of likes.
In the video, although she shows the deputy she doesn’t have a right hand, the deputy doubled down.
“I’m asking you now; did you or not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“You did not have your phone in your hand?” the deputy asks again.
“I did not,” Thomas responds.
“Hand to God, you didn’t have a phone in your hand?” the deputy asks.
“Hand to God,” Thomas says.
Court records show Thomas was given a $116 citation despite the presented evidence, but it was later dismissed at the request of the deputy involved.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.
Florida
Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The explosion occurred at about 9 p.m. ET. Blue Origin said there were no injuries from the incident.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station also confirmed in a separate statement that “all personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities.”
Blue Origin was scheduled to fuel the rocket Thursday evening ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines.
Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet service, which competes with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The 48 satellites were not aboard the rocket during the test. It was not immediately clear how much damage the launch pad and ground equipment sustained, or how long it might take to repair it.
Space Launch Complex 36, where the explosion occurred, is the only launch pad equipped to launch New Glenn rockets.
The New Glenn rocket is key to Blue Origin’s and NASA’s moon base plans, and the explosion will likely be a setback. Next year, the New Glenn is supposed to launch another Blue Moon lander as part of the Artemis III mission in low Earth orbit.
In a social media post, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”
The New Glenn rocket had just been cleared on May 22 to return to flight after being grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration after an anomaly with the second stage during an April 19 launch.
In a statement Thursday, the FAA said it was aware that the rocket had “experienced an anomaly during a static fire test on the pad in Cape Canaveral, Florida,” adding that the “test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities.”
The FAA also noted that “there was no impact to air traffic” from the explosion.
Bezos wrote on X Thursday night, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
Florida
Florida to pay Sumrall’s assistants a combined $11.2M in 2026
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida coach Jon Sumrall’s assistants will make a combined $11.2 million in 2026, a significant investment for a program desperate to win more often.
Offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner tops the list after signing a three-year, $6.6 million contract to leave Georgia Tech and join Sumrall in Gainesville. Faulker will get $2.1 million in 2026 – the first $2 million coordinator in school history – and has a $100,000 raise set for each of the next two years.
Only six college offensive coordinators were paid $2 million or more in 2025, according to CBS Sports. Fifteen defensive coordinators topped $2 million.
Florida defensive coordinator Brad White signed a three-year, $5.85 million deal that starts at $1.85 million and also includes a $100,000 raise in 2027 and 2028.
The Gators released the contracts Thursday in response to a public records request.
Sumrall signed a six-year, $44.7 million contract last year that averages $7.45 million annually. The Gators will dole out more than $20 million to Sumrall, his staff of 15 assistants and a front office led by new general manager Dave Caldwell.
Four of the assistants are scheduled to earn at least $1 million during their deals.
Defensive line coach Gerald Chapman and offensive line coach Phil Trautwine will join Faulker and White in the seven-figure club. Chapman, the lone holdover from former Florida coach Billy Napier’s staff, will make $950,000 this year and $1 million in 2027. Trautwine, meanwhile, starts at $750,000 and jumps to $1 million. Both signed two-year deals.
Their salaries show Sumrall’s commitment to rebuilding the team along both lines of scrimmage in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference.
Napier’s 12-man coaching staff was paid a combined $7.5 million in 2025. The Gators posted three losing seasons in Napier’s four years.
The rest of Sumrall’s staff range between making $350,000 and $600,000 annually, all of them on two-year contracts.
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