From Portsmouth, N.H., to Nashville, Tenn., social media rejoiced over the first snowfall of the season this weekend.
The unusually early storm dumped snow on parts of the South that rarely see such wintry weather this time of year. Sid King, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, told The Associated Press: "It's very, very abnormal and rare that we would get totals like that this time of year." King added, "I would not be surprised if we broke a lot of records."
The AP reported that more than 300,000 homes and businesses were still without power Saturday afternoon in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Temperatures stayed low throughout the weekend in much of the Southeastern United States, raising the risk of icy roads and dangerous driving conditions.
In other places, the snowfall was less dramatic. NPR's Rob Byers tweeted a video of a snowplow, diligently plowing a snow-free street in Washington, D.C.
Good work, DC. Way to stick with it. #snow pic.twitter.com/zpHpkbwug0
— Rob Byers (@RobByers1) December 9, 2017
But even a light snow can make for a pretty picture.
At the National Zoo, some of the animals enjoyed the snow while others were brought indoors. A video posted on the zoo's Twitter showed panda Mei Xiang rolling in the flurries.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
🐼❤️❄️ #MeiXiang’s on a roll! She had fun playing in the snow this morning. Read more about our animals in the snow https://t.co/zE8uguDSA5 #PandaStory pic.twitter.com/ozqFSMD8fB
— National Zoo (@NationalZoo) December 9, 2017