Aug 18: Summer Snow

It snowed in Dania Beach Monday morning. Well, it sure looked like snow anyway. And no, I haven't finally flipped my lid. Well, I don't think I have anyway. All right, all right. Yes, I'm kidding you of course - but only a little. Because I saw something just now that I had never seen during my 20 years in South Florida. Rain that really did resemble falling snow. Naturally enough, this got my attention. Over the weekend, I had noticed just the slightest change in our weather, the first suggestion that the most intense summer humidity was starting to slowly fade. This subtle shift in our climate seems to come earlier and earlier each year and I'm not sure why. I recall noticing much the same thing last August, though perhaps a week or so later than now.

In any case, I had enjoyed sitting on my patio this weekend and feeling a breeze that hinted at the autumn to come. Sure, it was still hot. Just not quite as hot, not quite as humid. But I must say, I hadn't considered the idea that it was cool enough to snow. Until Monday morning.

I took my coffee on to the patio to wake up and look at the pretty lake for a while. Regular readers of this blog may remember that I've seen some strange things from time to time in, on and near this lake. These included one memorable morning when three turtles were chasing a floating coconut around in circles, apparently trying to mate with it. Honest, I swear this is all true. So ok, I'm sitting there and I see these flakes bobbing about, dancing just as snowflakes do up north. I'm talking about those ultra-light flakes that get caught in the wind, swirling in small chaotic flurries. What I saw appeared to be the same kind of thing - except it was 80+ degrees outdoors in the middle of a South Florida August. I actually wondered if this was some weird release of plant pollen or other flora stuff, sort of like dried dandelions maybe? But no, it was raining. The droplets were catching the breeze to float and twirl through the air like snowflakes. My only explanation is that the raindrops' density must have been unusually light for some reason, coupled with a strange motion of wind currents around my condo building. Either that, or it was snowing. I prefer to believe the former. To make things even stranger, the sun emerged brightly within a couple minutes of the August blizzard. And then, no joking, one turtle swam over to my side of the lake, sticking his little green head out of the water as a reminder of the surreal things I've witnessed here. Let's just say that I was thankful there weren't any floating coconuts at the time.