SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – Snow in Central Florida is almost unheard of, but record-low temperatures overnight Saturday into Sunday morning made it possible for one Seminole County neighborhood to experience a rare winter surprise.
Children were seen playing in piles of snow — not from the sky, but from a snow machine built and operated by Seminole County dad Austin Beeghly.
“When it gets cold enough — like really cold, like last-night cold — we’re able to go ahead and actually make snow,” Beeghly said. “We actually have a snow machine that throws in a little bit of science together, and then we get to go ahead and turn it on.”
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Beeghly says the freezing temperatures allowed him to produce snow quickly, even with limited time and challenging winds.
“This was only three hours of snow-making that we got in,” he said. “It was so cold that we were able to pump out a lot more. (...) The kids get to play and have fun and throw some snowballs, and we do it for our children, of course, but also the neighborhood.”
The snow machine works by combining pressurized air, water and cold temperatures — a process Beeghly said mimics how snow is made at ski resorts.
“That comes in and basically breaks apart particles in a process called nucleation,” he said. “It has to be cold enough that it falls down as snow.”
For neighbors like Chris Halpern, the sight brought back memories. He says the last time the neighborhood saw snow like this was nearly 15 years ago.
“We did do it here 15 years ago with our two oldest,” Halpern said. “Now at 20.”
When asked if the excitement had changed over the years, Halpern didn’t hesitate.
“No — exactly the same joy,” he said.
As temperatures rise again across Central Florida, the snow won’t last — but for the families who experienced it, the moment is one they won’t soon forget.
[SEE: Snow flurries reported in Daytona Beach]