Ol' Man Winter, who brought frigid temperatures to Columbia County earlier this week, attempted to change the face of North Central Florida by pushing a number of snow flurries through the area on Saturday.
Snow flurries passed through Columbia, Suwannee, Hamilton and Lafayettes counties early to mid-afternoon Saturday, with the high winds whipping the random snow flakes through the air.
While none of the precipitation stuck, the excitement generated by the snow flurries was contagious in adults as well local children, with all of them uttering the same phrase: “I've never seen snow before.”
The excitement level at the Save A Lot grocery store in Lake City was high among customers and employees with many exiting the store to get a closer look at the white flakes just after 4:30 p.m.
While adults scurried through the parking lot or headed into the store looking for cover, youngsters reveled with seeing snow fall for the first time in their lives, and enjoy the rarity of having it happen in Columbia County.
Darren Kelley was entering the grocery store with his family and his daughter's friend when the winds began whipping and snow flurries could be seen falling in the parking lot.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity, especially for the little girls we have with us, my daughter, Kahlani and her friend, Amerie," he said of the snow flurries in Columbia County. "It was great for the little girls to be able to see the snow for the first time in their life."
Kelly said the girls were excited about seeing the snowflakes, but he didn't mention how they ran through the parking lot, screaming and telling others it was snowing.
"They were running, cheering, screaming, and having fun, the best thing for little kids to do," he said.
Kelley said he had never seen snow in Lake City before and noted it was a unique day.
"Again, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. It's not like we're going to have these snow flurries again," he said.
DeAnna Driggers, an assistant manager at Save A Lot, said she was shocked to have people coming inside the store and saying there were snow flurries outside.
"I was actually shocked until I looked outside and actually saw it for myself," she said, noting the last time she really saw it snow was in 1989. "It was actually exciting, it really was, especially for the kids."
Driggers exited the store with one of her cashiers, Natalie Fannon, who said she had never seen snow before and wanted to go outside and experience it for herself.
Driggers laughed and smiled while Fannon was infatuated by the winter precipitation and intrigued by the snow flurries being caught by her hair.
Driggers, on the other hand, tempered her excitement about the snow flurries, saying she didn't like the expereince too much.
"It was cold," she said.
May 24, 2026
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