A major winter storm that slammed Texas and the northern Gulf Coast is spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida panhandle and eastern Carolinas

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 record-breaking and rare winter storm hit the southern US Wednesday — dumping snow on New Orleans for the first time in15 years, and triggering the Gulf Coast’s first ever blizzard warning. The historic snowfall — which slammed areas from Florida to Texas starting Tuesday — snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt in regions unprepared for the freak weather event.

Meteorologists were left speechless Tuesday as record amounts of snow fell along the Gulf Coast. Here’s why it was so snowy.

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.