Latest News

US South targeted by rare winter season storm, deep freeze blankets much of nation

An unusual winter season storm churned across 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 remained in a deep freeze.

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

Abigail Albrecht, a math instructor at Cypress Woods High School in Harris County near Houston, said authorities announced on Sunday that classes were canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

In the 6 years I have actually worked at this school in Texas, they have never ever canceled school that far in advance due to weather condition, specifically snow, she said.

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 embeded in 1895. The last time the city received any measurable snowfall was 2009, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm is expected to crawl through Mississippi, Georgia and Florida early today. As much as 5 inches of snow were forecast for Mobile, Alabama, where such accumulations have not been seen in more than 60 years, according to the NWS.

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

Temperature levels were anticipated to dip on Tuesday into single digits Fahrenheit, well listed below freezing, throughout the region. Forecasters and local leaders advised citizens to safeguard themselves from frostbite and to take steps to keep their water pipelines from bursting.

Across the South, the snow, integrated with an inch of ice build-up and wind gusts of as much as 40 miles per hour (64 kph),. could make road and flight difficult for a number of days, while. threatening to topple power lines and trees, forecasters said.

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

Texas ports and pilots, who assist in guiding vessels,. suspended some operations on Monday as freezing weather condition struck the. state.

To the north, the majority of the eastern two-thirds of the United. States were experiencing completely cold temperature levels as a cold. front was anticipated to remain through a minimum of Tuesday.

It was -5 degrees Fahrenheit

(source: Reuters)