VOA新闻杂志2025--The American South Gets ‘Once-in-a Lifetime’ Snow and Cold

The American South Gets ‘Once-in-a Lifetime’ Snow and Cold

People in the southern U.S. state of Florida are used to warm, sunny weather. But on January 21, Floridians saw a rare sight: snow on their beaches. A cold weather system brought snow to several southern states in what many are calling a once-in-a-lifetime event.

So much snow fell across the American South that snowballs flew on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, and children and parents used any kind of plastic they could find to slide down snow-covered hills along the Mississippi River.

The Associated Press reported that 24.9 centimeters of snow fell near the small town of Milton, Florida. That breaks the snowfall record of 10.1 centimeters from 1954.

"It's an incredible¹, incredible event," said Michael Mugrage. Mugrage is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Mobile², Alabama. That is where many of the highest snowfall numbers from the South were reported. "It puts it in perspective³ how rare this is."

Milton is northeast of Pensacola, Florida, where 22.6 centimeters broke the city's previous all-time snow record of 7.6 centimeters set in 1895.

Here are some places reporting rare snowfall events:

New Orleans, Louisiana

The National Weather Service reported that in some parts of New Orleans, 25 centimeters of snow fell. That broke the city's record of 6.8 centimeters from 1963.

Houston, Texas

In Texas, up to 10 centimeters of snow fell in the Houston area. The area reportedly does not own any trucks with snow-moving equipment known as snowplows.

Charleston, South Carolina

More than 10 centimeters of snow fell in and around Charleston, South Carolina, where snow closed the airport.

Mobile, Alabama

At Mobile Regional Airport in Alabama, 15.7 centimeters of snow was recorded, breaking the city's one-day snowfall record of 12.7 centimeters. The record was set on January 24, 1881, the weather service said. A reported snowfall total of 28 centimeters in the small town of Babbie in southern Alabama was among the highest nationwide for the day.

Cold and snowy

It was very cold in Mobile, too. The National Weather Service said a low of minus 14 Celsius⁴ tied the third-coldest low temperature record for the city, set in 1899. In Louisiana, all-time records for low temperatures were reported in the cities of New Iberia and Lafayette. Wednesday's low of minus 17 Celsius in New Iberia broke a record that had stood since 1962. Lafayette's low of minus 16 Celsius broke a record that dates back to 1899.

Across several southern states, flights were cancelled, and some highways were closed.

Europe's climate agency⁵ reports record high temperatures

The record snowfall and low temperatures did not affect the entire world. The AP reports Europe's Copernicus climate service data shows the first 20 days of January 2025 had the highest average temperature worldwide recorded for the first 20 days of any year.

So far this year, U.S. weather has set or equaled 697 daily records for coldest temperatures. That is close to the 629 daily records that have been reported so far this year for warmest temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁶ Administration⁷ said that in the past 365 days, U.S. weather stations have recorded five times as many heat records as cold records.

Scientists say they seem to be seeing more cool air but not cooler weather. Some scientists hold the theory that warm temperatures in the Arctic⁸ area are displacing⁹ cold air which is pushed further south.

I'm Jill Robbins.

Jill Robbins adapted this story from Associated Press reports for Learning¹⁰ English.

______________________________________________

Words in This Story

perspective – n. a way of thinking about and understanding something (such as a particular issue or life in general)

minus – adj. having a value that is below zero, negative

1 incredible   

adj.难以置信的，不可信的，极好的，大量的

参考例句：

• Some planets run at incredible speed.某些星球以难以置信的速度运行着。
• Her answer showed the most incredible stupidity.她的回答显示出不可思议的愚蠢。

2 mobile   

adj.可移动的，易变的，机动的；n.运动物体

参考例句：

• The old lady sits on a mobile chair every morning.那位老妇人每天上午坐在一把可携带使用的椅子上。
• She's much more mobile now that she's bought a car.自从她买了汽车后，活动量就大多了。

3 perspective   

n.视角，观点，想法

参考例句：

• You can get a perspective of the whole city from here.从这里你可以看到城市的全景。
• We may get a clear perspective of the people's happy lives.我们知道人民对幸福生活的展望。

4 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

5 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 administration   

n.经营，管理；行政，行政机关，管理部门

参考例句：

• Who is in charge of the administration of your company?你们公司的行政工作由谁负责？
• The teachers are responsible to the school administration.教师向学校行政负责。

8 Arctic   

adj.北极的；n.北极

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• The sort of animal lived in the Arctic Circle.这种动物生活在北极圈里。

9 displacing   

移动( displace的现在分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• The face of Big Brother swam into his mind, displacing that of O'Brien. 他的脑海里浮现出老大哥的脸，代替了奥勃良的脸。 来自英汉文学
• Leukemias typically fill up the marrow with abnormal cells, displacing normal hematopoiesis. 典型的白血病有很多不正常的细胞充满骨髓，取代正常的造血功能。

10 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。