A rare winter storm across North Florida is causing historic snow in Pensacola and the Panhandle. See striking images of how residents reacted.

North Florida residents from Pensacola to Jacksonville are bracing for what is expected to be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime winter storm.

A historic winter storm that prompted rare Winter Storm Warnings across North Florida and ... See images, video of historic Florida snow from rare winter storm near Pensacola See images of ...

Parts of North Florida are experiencing winter weather on Tuesday afternoon as a winter storm warning has been issued for the panhandle and Big Bend regions of the state.

The major winter storm moved east Wednesday, spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and the eastern Carolinas. The precipitation hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.

Tuesday and Wednesday delivered a winter wonderland for some and delayed travel plans for others as an unusual layer of snow and ice coated North Florida. Preliminary storm data from the National Weather Service show as much as six inches of snow in Bonifay in Holmes County and in Fountain and Cedar Grove in Bay

Florida residents in four locations woke to very chilly temps. It was 25 in Tallahassee at 6 a.m. By comparison, it was 41 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Climatologically, it is not supposed to snow in South Florida. The laid-back tropics are a region constantly gaining energy from the sun, and with Florida's temperatures moderated by warm water on three sides, snow is unusual even in the northern reaches of the state.

The heaviest snowfall in the Sunshine State occurred around Pensacola, where spotters reported measuring amounts of 5-12 inches through Tuesday evening.

A rare winter storm across North Florida and the Panhandle is causing record snowfall in Pensacola, Florida. The National Weather Service doesn't have an official measurement of the snowfall ...

Snow in the Sunshine State doesn't happen very often. But it did. And here are the photos from Pensacola to Yulee to prove it.

Not only did Florida get record snowfall, but it was colder in Pensacola this morning than it was in Anchorage, Alaska.