It’s ‘raining Iguanas’ in Florida as record cold snap bites southern US
Temperatures hit record lows in the normally mild Sunshine State as much of the US digs out from a monster winter storm
Iguanas stunned by cold temperatures dropped from trees in usually balmy Florida on Sunday as icy conditions blasted southern US states, dumping nearly a half metre of snow in some areas and whipping up high winds that caused traffic chaos.
The heaviest snows were reported in North Carolina - a state that rarely sees snow other than in its highest elevations. The city of Lexington saw 40cm (16 inches), and Faust in the state’s Walnut Mountains got 56cm (22 inches).
State Governor Josh Stein reported 1,000 road collisions and two fatalities on Saturday and Sunday, and urged people to stay off the roads. He also advised citizens to be aware of the symptoms of frostbite.
The latest bout of extreme weather came about a week after a monster storm pummelled a wide swathe of the United States, killing more than 100 people and leaving many communities struggling to dig out from snow and ice.
While Florida did not see snow like the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky and the southern part of Virginia, it saw record low temperatures, with the mercury touching minus 4 degrees Celsius (24 Fahrenheit) in Orlando, the lowest recorded in February since at least 1923. Typically at this time of year, the temperature ranges between daily lows of 12 degrees and highs of 23 degrees.
Florida’s WPLG 10 TV network, based in Miami, reported that it was “raining iguanas” on Sunday morning, as the cold-blooded reptiles fall from trees when the temperature gets too low.