A rare and powerful winter storm has brought heavy snowfall, freezing rain, and frigid temperatures to much of the Southern US, causing significant travel disruptions, school closures, and power outages. The storm has prompted the first-ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and areas across the Gulf South that rarely see snow are experiencing near-record or record snowfall.
Both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday in expectation of hazardous conditions charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast. New Orleans and Houston were frozen Tuesday, closing highways, grounding nearly all flights, and canceling school for millions of students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days. The storm has prompted the first-ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border.
Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain are expected around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.Nearly 2,000 flights to, from, or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, with about 10,000 others delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. In Texas, both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday in expectation of hazardous conditions. Nearly every flight was canceled at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, though officials said the airport itself would remain open “as long as the conditions are safe.” Most airlines plan to resume normal operations Wednesday.The East Coast was blanketed in snow while people from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine shivered in bitterly cold temperatures from the frigid arctic air mass that plunged temperatures well below normal. Dangerously cold wind chills were expected through Tuesday morning. In New Orleans, 65-year-old Robert Hammock donned a beanie and rallied himself and his border collie Tillie for a snowy, frosty morning walk. “She loves the snow,” Hammock said as Tillie sprawled happily in the slush on the sidewalk. “I’m from south Alabama, so I hate the snow.”Winter storm warnings extended from Texas to North Carolina on Tuesday, with heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain expected to move eastward through the region into Wednesday. Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared Monday night across at least a dozen counties in New York as heavy lake-effect snow was expected around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie through Wednesday — with 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) possible — along with extremely cold temperatures.Ahead of the storm, governors in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama declared states of emergency, and many school systems canceled classes Tuesday. According to meteorologist Donald Jones, the blizzard warning, which was in effect until midday Tuesday, was the first issued by the office in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Strong winds with heavier snow bands were reducing visibility, and areas across the Gulf South that rarely see snow expect near-record or record snowfall, Jones said.Baton Rouge, Louisiana, already had 1.5 inches of snow coating downtown Tuesday morning, according to the National Weather Service — the capital city's first snowfall since 2018. Parts of Interstate 10 were closed due to icy conditions, and some nearby parishes implemented curfews. “The last time we saw snow of this magnitude was way back in 1960, and prior to that, the previous snowfall record that even stands to this day was way back in 1895,” Jones said. “By modern standards, this is going to be a historic and very memorable storm for this part of the world.” In Harahan, a suburb of New Orleans, as a rare snowstorm began to cover the roads, a Harahan police officer without gloves rubbed his hands to warm them after responding to a church security alarm. Sleet changed to snow as the sun rose, with scarcely a car on the road. Before snow and sleet began falling Monday night, Houston Mayor John Whitmire asked residents to stay off the roads, noting that above-freezing temperatures weren't expected until Thursday. Snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour or more were possible from eastern Texas to the western Florida panhandle, and historic snowfall of 3 to 6 inches was forecast along the Interstate 10 corridor, including Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida, according to the weather service. Heavy snow, sleet, and freezing rain are forecast across Georgia, northern Florida, and the eastern Carolinas from Tuesday night into Wednesday.Much of the Eastern Seaboard is enduring some of the coldest temperatures this winter. Frigid cold persisted across the eastern two-thirds of the country with multiple record lows possible through midweek, especially across the Gulf Coast and portions of the Southeast, the weather service said. Normal temperatures were only expected to return slowly by the end of the week. Wind chills were expected to reach minus 30 degrees to minus 50 at times across portions of the Dakotas and into the Upper Midwest, posing an extreme risk of hypothermia and frostbite. Subzero wind chills were forecast to continue from the central plains eastward through Wednesday night. The extreme cold prompted school districts across the upper Midwest to close schools or hold online classes on Tuesday
Winter Storm Blizzard Snowfall Freezing Rain Arctic Blast Travel Disruptions School Closures Power Outages Southern US
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