TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Tampa Bay area is bracing for more than just an invasion of pirates. The coldest air the region has felt in years arrives on Sunday with most inland counties reaching freezing temperatures.

So with freezing temperatures on the way, could even the lightest of snow flurries fall in central Florida?

“Highly unlikely,” said WFLA’s Max Defender 8 Chief Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli.

But, Jeff… “unlikely” means there’s a chance, right? You’ve seen Dumb and Dumber, I presume?

“For it to snow, temperatures in the clouds – a few thousand feet aloft – need to be below freezing. Check! That ingredient is present. Surface temperatures don’t have to be freezing (32°) for snow to fall, as long as the air above is cold enough so that flakes do not melt. I have seen it snow with surface temperatures above 40°. Our surface temperatures will be in the low to mid-40s most of Saturday on the Nature Coast. So technically it is borderline cold enough to snow – or at least for a few very wet flakes to reach the ground.”

So wait… that means there’s a chance!

“Well hold on a minute, JB. We need one more ingredient and that’s moisture,” Berardelli continued. “It seems that there may be some low-level clouds moving off the Gulf of Mexico the first half of Saturday with the help of a gusty northwest wind. These are “Gulf Effect Clouds” caused by cold air bellowing over mild water temperatures. And there MAY be JUST enough moisture to squeeze out a sprinkle, or yes even a flurry.”

Jeff, I’ll be right back. Need to run to Target for a snow shovel, and some boots. Might as well pick up some eggs, toilet paper, bottles of wa–

“But moisture is very limited. Later Saturday into Sunday the whole atmosphere will be bone dry so if any flakes have a chance, they’d need to fall Saturday morning close to the coast in the northern half of the Tampa Bay area. With that said, moisture is barely sufficient, and temperatures are barely cold enough at the surface. And you need to be in the perfect spot and available to observe the flurry. So, is there a chance you personally may see a flurry? Yes, technically there’s a chance – an even better chance than you winning the lottery.”

Berardelli says the best chances for snow flurries will be Sunday morning and on the Nature Coast, where the chance is lower than 10 percent. The chances in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and the surrounding Tampa Bay area are nearly non-existent.

For those wondering it is possible for it to snow in Tampa. On Jan. 19, 1977, Tampa officially recorded .2 inches, but some areas got 1-2 inches of snow, Max Defender 8 meteorologists said.

The snow started late on Jan.18 and accumulated before sunrise on Jan. 19. Temperatures dipped into the 30s. Snow was reported as far south as Venice.