A powerful and rare winter storm swept across the South on Tuesday, bringing the first-ever Blizzard Warning to the Gulf Coast and blasting communities from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas with record-shattering snow that snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt.

The rare Southern storm prompted this headline from the Anchorage Daily News: "Hey, New Orleans, please send some of your snow to Anchorage."

A historic winter storm is expected to bring rare heavy snowfall and ice to states along the Gulf Coast and could impact as many as 55 million people through midweek, according to national

A significant portion of I-10 is closed in both directions in Louisiana west of Baton Rouge to the Texas border.

Snow totals in Louisiana have broken records. Parts of Florida, Texas and Georgia have also accumulated several inches of snow.

Airports are readying for major disruptions in Texas, Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast before anticipated wintry blast.

Over 10 inches of snow has been reported in Louisiana as a historic, unprecedented snowstorm slams the South. The snow is falling across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, bringing many roads to a standstill.

Florida just saw the most snow on record, with a preliminary 8.8 inches observed in Milton, which is north of Pensacola.

A winter storm pummeled the southern United States with ice and snow Tuesday. Here's how much snow fell in Florida, Texas, Alabama and more.

The heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern US into a deep freeze.

As heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hit parts of the Deep South, a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.