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US South hit by uncommon winter storm, deep freeze blankets much of nation

A rare winter storm churned throughout the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, bringing heavy snow, ice and wind gusts to a region where flurries are uncommon, while much of the United States stayed in a deep freeze.

As the storm moved east, crews near Houston raked highways, while downtown streets, covered in white, were virtually deserted during the morning rush.

In Houston, few individuals ventured out into the snow as some dining establishments and bars stayed closed. The Houston metro rail was running however travelers were couple of. Schools were closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

I have actually remained in Texas my entire life and I have never seen this depth of snow, said Ishan Bhaidani, 29, who owns a fintech speaking with business in Houston. It usually gets more icy however this kind of great snow, this is an initially.

Snow was likewise falling in New Orleans, where as much as 8 inches (20 cm) were anticipated to accumulate by the end of the day, threatening to connect a record set in 1895. The last time the city received any quantifiable snowfall was 2009, according to the National Weather Condition Service.

The storm is expected to crawl through Mississippi, Georgia and Florida early this week. Up to five inches of snow were projection for Mobile, Alabama, where such build-ups have not been seen in more than 60 years, according to the NWS.

A snowstorm caution was issued for the region for Tuesday through Wednesday, with a blizzard caution in result for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana until Tuesday afternoon, the service said.

Numerous flights in and out of the region's airports were delayed or canceled on Tuesday morning. Some 960 fights leaving or bound for Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport were canceled, according to Flightaware.com.

Temperature levels were expected to dip on Tuesday into single digits Fahrenheit, well below freezing, throughout the region. Forecasters and local leaders prompted homeowners to secure themselves from frostbite and to take actions to keep their water pipelines from bursting.

Throughout the South, the snow, integrated with an inch of ice accumulation and wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour (64 kph),. might make road and flight challenging for a number of days, while. threatening to fall power lines and trees, forecasters stated.

In southeastern Texas, some 45,000 homes and businesses were. without power, according to Poweroutage.us.

Atlanta and Montgomery, Alabama, opened warming centers and. closed government offices in anticipation of the storm. Various. school districts canceled classes, according to regional news.

Texas ports and pilots, who help in assisting vessels,. suspended some operations on Monday as frigid weather condition hit the. state.

To the north, most of the eastern two-thirds of the United. States were experiencing completely cold temperatures as a cold. front was anticipated to remain through at least Tuesday.

It was -5 degrees Fahrenheit

(source: Reuters)