On Jan. 21, 2025, Northwest Florida got a taste of climate change
Snow fell at a furious rate the afternoon of Jan. 21, 2025, during an unprecedented winter storm that blanketed the Southeast with snow and freezing temperatures. Image by Del Stone Jr.
Northwest Florida got a taste of climate change on Jan. 21, 2025, when an unprecedented snowstorm blanketed the area with up to 8 inches of snow.
The jet stream, departing from its usual west-to-east track, brought arctic air deep into the southeastern United States. That, coupled with a low pressure area forming in the western Gulf of Mexico – that’s right, Gulf of MEXICO – led to what will undoubtedly become known as the Snowstorm of the Century for Northwest Florida.
Only once before had snow fallen in significant quantities in southern Okaloosa County – Feb. 9, 1973, when anywhere from 2 to 4 inches fell. The Jan. 21 event buried that record with an astounding 6 to 8 inches.
In south Okaloosa the snow began around 2:30 in the afternoon. It did not end until close to 10 o’clock that night. High winds and freezing temperatures completed the picture. In some areas of the Southeast, BLIZZARD WARNINGS were issued.
Some people said this storm proves climate change is a hoax. Aren’t temperatures supposed to be growing ever warmer?
Temperatures ARE growing ever warmer, an average of about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1950s. Virtually ever year over the past 15 years has set a new high average temperature record.
But climate change is about more than just higher average temperatures. One of its tenets is escalating weather extremes, both heat- and cold-related. The Jan. 21 snowstorm certainly qualifies as a cold-related weather extreme.
And what does our new president do? Pulls the United States out of the Paris climate accords and recommits to doing the very thing that got us here in the first place – burning fossil fuels.
You and I will not suffer the consequences of this folly any more than we already are, but your children may see worse, and your grandchildren almost certainly will. Next time, choose your leaders wisely.
And batten the hatches. Hurricane season is approaching.
All images by Del Stone Jr.
About the author:
Del Stone Jr. is a professional fiction writer. He is known primarily for his work in the contemporary dark fiction field, but has also published science fiction and contemporary fantasy. Stone’s stories, poetry and scripts have appeared in publications such as Amazing Stories, Eldritch Tales, and Bantam-Spectra’s Full Spectrum. His short fiction has been published in The Year’s Best Horror Stories XXII; Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine; the Pocket Books anthology More Phobias; the Barnes & Noble anthologies 100 Wicked Little Witch Stories, Horrors! 365 Scary Stories, and 100 Astounding Little Alien Stories; the HWA anthology Psychos; and other short fiction venues, like Blood Muse, Live Without a Net, Zombiesque and Sex Macabre. Stone’s comic book debut was in the Clive Barker series of books, Hellraiser, published by Marvel/Epic and reprinted in The Best of Hellraiser anthology. He has also published stories in Penthouse Comix, and worked with artist Dave Dorman on many projects, including the illustrated novella “Roadkill,” a short story for the Andrew Vachss anthology Underground from Dark Horse, an ashcan titled “December” for Hero Illustrated, and several of Dorman’s Wasted Lands novellas and comics, such as Rail from Image and “The Uninvited.” Stone’s novel, Dead Heat, won the 1996 International Horror Guild’s award for best first novel and was a runner-up for the Bram Stoker Award. Stone has also been a finalist for the IHG award for short fiction, the British Fantasy Award for best novella, and a semifinalist for the Nebula and Writers of the Future awards. His stories have appeared in anthologies that have won the Bram Stoker Award and the World Fantasy Award. Two of his works were optioned for film, the novella “Black Tide” and short story “Crisis Line.”
Stone recently retired after a 41-year career in journalism. He won numerous awards for his work, and in 1986 was named Florida’s best columnist in his circulation division by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors. In 2001 he received an honorable mention from the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association for his essay “When Freedom of Speech Ends” and in 2003 he was voted Best of the Best in the category of columnists by Emerald Coast Magazine. He participated in book signings and awareness campaigns, and was a guest on local television and radio programs.
As an addendum, Stone is single, kills tomatoes and morning glories with ruthless efficiency, once tied the stem of a cocktail cherry in a knot with his tongue, and carries a permanent scar on his chest after having been shot with a paintball gun. He’s in his 60s as of this writing but doesn’t look a day over 94.
Contact Del at [email protected]. He is also on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, tumblr, TikTok, and Instagram. Visit his website at delstonejr.com .
