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.

Preparations are underway from Houston to Atlanta as a rare winter storm sets its sights on the southern U.S., where it's expected to bring a messy mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that could have a major impact on travel and daily life.

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

That's wild considering it hasn't snowed in New Orleans since 2009, and their last "big" snowstorm was in 2008 when 1-2 inches fell. Up to five inches of snow could accumulate in the Houston area. The all-time record snowfall in Houston is 3.0 inches, so this is very clearly a historic situation.

From a snowy Bourbon Street in New Orleans to making a snowman on the beaches in Houston, check out the falling snow in our southern states.

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.

Snow totals in the inconceivable 4-6” range are a possibility. The all-time Florida snow record of 4” from Milton in 1954 is in serious danger of falling in the next 24 hours.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A major winter storm that slammed Texas and blanketed the northern Gulf Coast with record-breaking snow moved east Wednesday, spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and eastern Carolinas.

The snowstorm currently lashing the Gulf Coast is being described as a once in a generation weather event, the National Weather Service said Monday.

An arctic air mass will channel temperatures 20-30 degrees below already historically cold January averages. The South braced for a rare winter storm.

Pensacola beat the old record of 3 inches. Icy conditions will bring dangerous roads across the Panhandle and North Florida on Wednesday morning. The front loses its speed over the Peninsula. Here's your forecast.

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