NEW ORLEANS (AP) – A big winter storm that hit Texas and blanketed the northern Gulf Coast with record snow moved east overnight, spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Panhandle Florida, Georgia and the eastern Carolinas.
A rare frigid storm moved across Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow that closed highways, grounded flights and canceled schools for more than a million students. Some residents went out to make the most of the snowfall.
The weather alert areas included major cities like Jacksonville, Florida, which were expected to see snow, sleet and ice accumulation through Wednesday. The Jacksonville International Airport closed Tuesday evening due to weather conditions and announced plans to reopen at noon Wednesday. Schools canceled classes and government offices were closed on Wednesday.
“We are expecting some winter conditions that we are not accustomed to in Northeast Florida,” the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook. “The safest place you can be Tuesday night and Wednesday is at home!”
In eastern North Carolina, snowfall was expected with blizzard-like conditions in the state’s Outer Banks, where up to 8 inches (20.3 centimeters) was expected to fall.
Dangerous subzero temperatures, accompanied by even colder wind chills, are also expected to persist through much of the week in the region. Authorities say three people died due to the cold.
THE heavy snowsleet and freezing rain that hit parts of the Deep South came blast of arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and eastern United States into a deep freeze.
Record snow days
A rare winter storm has hit the southern United States, bringing widespread snowfall to areas like Louisiana that hadn’t seen snow in years.
It had been more than a decade since snow had fallen in New Orleans. Tuesday’s rare snowfall set a record in the city, where 10 inches (25 centimeters) fell in some places, far surpassing the record of 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) set on Dec. 31, 1963. the National Weather Service said.
“Wow, what a snow day!” the weather agency said in a social media post. “It’s safe to say this is a historic snowfall for much of the region.”
The snow closed highways, grounded nearly all flights and canceled classes for more than a million students more accustomed to hurricane layoffs than snow days.
Snow fell in Houston and triggered the first-ever blizzard warnings in several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border. Snow covered the white sand beaches of normally sunny vacation spots including Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Pensacola Beach, Florida.
“Believe it or not, in the state of Florida, we mobilize snow plows,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
People made the most of it – from a snowball fight on a Gulf Shores beach to a laundry basket sled ride in Montgomery, Alabama, to a pool ride down a Houston hill .
In New Orleans, urban skiing was attempted along Bourbon Street, a priest and nuns engaged in a snowball fight in front of a suburban church, snowboarders tore each other to pieces behind a cart. golf and people sledded down the snowy levees of the Mississippi River on kayaks and boxes. and inflatable alligators.
David Delio, a high school teacher, and his two daughters raced down the seawall on a yoga mat and a bodyboard.
“It’s a whiteout in New Orleans, it’s snowy,” Delio said. “We’ve had tons of hurricane days but never a snow day.”
Nuns at St. Catherine of Siena Catholic School near New Orleans encouraged their students last week to pray for the snow day they received Tuesday, the Rev. Tim Hedrick said. The priest said he invited the nuns to make snow angels and they challenged him to a snowball fight that has since received tens of thousands of views on social media.
“It’s a fun way to show that the priests and sisters are humans too and can have fun,” Hedrick said.
Mobile, Alabama, reached 5.4 inches (13.7 centimeters) on Tuesday, surpassing the city’s single-day snowfall record of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters), set on January 24, 1881, and closing in on its all-time snowfall record of 6 inches (15.5 centimeters). ) in 1895, the weather service said.
Flight cancellations, states of emergency and deaths
More than 2,300 flights to, from or within the United States were canceled Tuesday, according to online tracking site FlightAware.com. Both Houston airports suspended flight operations and nearly all flights were canceled at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. Most airlines planned to resume operations on Wednesday.
The NWS said up to 4 inches of snow fell in the Houston area. Texas transportation officials said more than 20 snow plows were being used on nearly 7,000 miles of lane in the Houston area, which does not have its own plows in the city or county.
Ahead of the storm, governors in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even Florida — the Sunshine State — declared a state of emergency and many school systems canceled classes Tuesday. School closures were planned in some coastal communities in North and South Carolina.
In the Texas capital, two people died due to the cold, according to a press release from the city of Austin. No details were provided, but the city said emergency crews responded to more than a dozen “cold exposure” calls.
Authorities said one person died of hypothermia in Georgia.
A state of emergency has also been declared in at least a dozen New York counties with up to 2 feet of rain. lake effect snow and extreme cold is expected around Lakes Ontario and Erie through Wednesday.
Santa Ana winds expected to return to Southern California
In Southern California, where fires killed at least 27 people and burned thousands of houses, dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds remained a concern.
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Sarah Brumfield, Associated Press writers in Cockeysville, Maryland; Jack Brook in New Orleans; Sara Cline in Key Largo, Florida; Julie Walker in New York; Dave Collins in Hartford, Conn.; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; Corey Williams in Detroit; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta; Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama; Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tenn.; and Lisa Baumann of Bellingham, Washington, contributed.
