By James Call, USA TODAY NETWORK
Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of “a generational winter storm event” as ice and snow began barreling into north Florida.
He spoke to reporters Tuesday at the state’s Emergency Operations Center in Tallahassee. A complex mix of wintry weather has begun blanketing the western Gulf Coast and will bring brutal cold and dangerous conditions to the Sunshine State.
DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 41 counties Monday, expanded the declaration to 61 counties Tuesday morning. As snow began to fall in Pensacola, he also ordered state offices closed in the affected areas through Wednesday.
Given the cold, the governor said, anything that falls on the ground is going to be there for a while, making travel potentially dangerous for the next two days.
“The roads could become hazardous beginning this afternoon. There’s going to be ice, there’s going to be snow. We don’t think it’s going to be warm enough for that to really melt. It’ll be there,” DeSantis said.
The National Weather Service has placed North Florida under a winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Wednesday. Accumulations of snow and ice has closed large sections of Interstate 10 – North Florida’s major thoroughfare – in Texas and Louisiana. Frigid air is headed east and will penetrate Florida as far south as Marion County.
AccuWeather predicts the storm could evolve into the Gulf’s biggest snow and ice storm in more than 100 years. DeSantis warned it will create unfamiliar conditions, especially for driving, for many Floridians not used to subfreezing temperatures.
He related a story about being a 20-year-old college student in Boston driving a pickup truck that went into a slide on black ice: “When you are in these icy conditions there’s a lot that can go wrong. … If you are out there thinking, like, you can just power through it. I mean, there will be accidents, and we don’t want that. It’s avoidable.”
In preparation for the storm’s arrival, the state has de-iced more than 600 bridges and has more than 250 workers and 200 pieces of equipment, including snowplows, in place and ready when needed. An extreme cold warning is also in effect.
Officials advise people to dress in layers, protect pets, plants and pipes, and follow fire safety precautions when using heating sources indoors. Officials warn up to 3, and potentially 6 inches of snow and a quarter-inch of ice could accumulate. That’s enough to weigh down power lines and disrupt service.
DeSantis explained that Florida’s electrical infrastructure is not designed for what is amounting to be a once in a 100-year freeze. “If this were South Dakota, they would just shrug their shoulders. We are designed a little bit differently,” he said.
James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com and is on X as @CallTallahassee .
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis issues snow, ice warnings ahead of historic winter storm
