NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow that closed highways, grounded nearly all flights and canceled school for more than a million students more accustomed to hurricane dismissals than snow days.

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.

A winter storm dumped snow from Texas into Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even Florida Tuesday. More of the South is up next.

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

An historic January storm dumped more deep snow along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday after bringing Houston and New Orleans to a near standstill over the past two days and burying parts of Florida's Panhandle with accumulations more typical of Chicago.

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.

Millions of people living along the Gulf Coast and into the Southeast are bracing for a rare, significant winter storm that’s expected to significantly impact travel and lead to power outages due to heavy snow and ice starting Monday evening.

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.

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.

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.