It’s not your imagination: The South is snowier than the Twin Cities right now

Snowball fights in Cajun country. Frosted palms in Florida. Skiing in South Carolina.

These are the wintry wonders our friends to the south enjoyed while those of us in the north got the bitter butt end of this recent Arctic blast.

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS anchor Kevin Doran happened to be right in the thick of it, sharing these photos of a snow-covered beach in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

If it feels like the Deep South is getting more winter “magic” than Minnesota right now, there’s a reason for that. We’re far below average snowfall for the season, and our current snow depth is even more of a departure from the norm.

According to the National Weather Service, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has measured 9.8 inches of snow since Oct. 31. Of course, much of that snow melted over the course of some late-December rain showers leaving most of Minnesota with paltry snow depth.

Current estimates show snow depth of 2 inches or less in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota, and as of last Thursday, nearly the entire state was below the 40th percentile for snow depth. Meanwhile, a blast of cold air mingling with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico this week made for record-breaking snowstorms in places that rarely see even one snowflake.

Here are just some of the places with more snow on the ground than the Twin Cities right now, according to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center:

  • Galveston, Texas
  • Houston
  • Lake Charles, Louisiana
  • Lafayette, Louisiana
  • New Orleans
  • Baton Rouge, Louisiana
  • Biloxi, Mississippi
  • Mobile, Alabama
  • Pensacola, Florida
  • Panama City, Florida
  • Tallahassee, Florida
  • Savannah, Georgia
  • Charleston, South Carolina
  • Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

It’s worth noting that even a dusting of snow is enough to shut down many of the cities mentioned above.

For snow lovers here in Minnesota, there’s a bit of good news on the way. Meteorologist Jonathan Yuhas is forecasting some flurries Friday afternoon.