Severe cold weather has engulfed parts of the US south as a major winter storm bringing record-breaking snowfall and frigid temperatures to parts of the Gulf coast region on Tuesday, with icy conditions expected to continue into Wednesday.
In anticipation of the dangerous winter weather, governors across the south, including Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, declared states of emergency earlier this week, and a blizzard warning for parts of Louisiana and Texas was issued for the first time ever, but has since been discontinued.
The storm is affecting states from Texas to Florida as well as the Carolinas and Georgia, and has resulted in multiple fatalities and injuries and caused widespread travel disruptions and closures.
As of Wednesday morning, multiple deaths have been reported.
Several deaths were reported in south Texas due to an icy road crash, and authorities said that two deaths in Austin are being investigated as potential cold-related fatalities.
Two hypothermia-related deaths are being investigated in Georgia and Milwaukee. In Alabama, a woman reportedly died after she lost control of her vehicle on a snow-covered road and a man died from a fire caused by a stove with which he was trying to heat his home.
The National Weather Service said that a historic 8in (20cm) of snow was recorded in parts of the New Orleans metropolitan area on Tuesday, breaking the previous record of 2.7in set in 1963.
In parts of Louisiana, new all-time record low temperatures were recorded across the region on Wednesday morning, with temperatures in New Iberia reaching a low of 2F (-16C). Some areas of Louisiana received an estimated 12in of snow on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, it appeared that Florida had broken its state snowfall record of 4in, set in 1954. Meteorologists in Pensacola reported snowfall of up to 7.8in and 8.8in of snow was reported in Milton.
As of Wednesday morning, freeze warnings are in effect for parts of Louisiana, Texas, California, Arizona and Florida. Additionally, winter storm warnings have been issued for areas of South Carolina, Michigan and Florida, where snowfall is expected.
Extreme cold warnings are in effect on Wednesday morning across areas of Washington DC, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Alabama, South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey and West Virginia, with dangerously low wind chills expected.
Florida weather officials have warned that air temperatures may drop below freezing through Wednesday, with another hard freeze expected on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service office in Jacksonville reported light snow falling on Wednesday morning and warned of dangerous road conditions.
Dangerous wind chills are expected to continue on Wednesday in New Orleans, which will keep ice on roadways, making travel dangerous, weather officials said.
A cold weather advisory is in effect for the Austin/Travis county area in Texas, with wind-chill temperatures as low as 8F (-13C).
Schools across some of the affected areas remained closed on Wednesday, including in areas of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia.
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Flights also remained disrupted on Wednesday. As of Wednesday morning, about 70% of flights from the Baton Rouge metro, New Orleans international, Charleston international, Pensacola international and Gulfport-Biloxi airports were cancelled, according to FlightAware. By 9.30am ET, 1,394 flights within, into or out of the US were cancelled.
Precipitation from the winter storm is expected to continue on Wednesday morning for the Gulf coast and the south-east, weather officials said, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain forecast from northern Florida to North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Elsewhere in the country, in parts of the continental US and east coast, residents are also experiencing below-freezing temperatures.
Weather officials reported that the Buffalo airport in New York state dropped below 0F (-17.7C) for the first time in almost six years, while the Rochester airport fell below 0F for the first time in almost two years on Wednesday morning.
Weather officials in Chicago warned of incoming snow on Wednesday, and advised residents of “reduced visibilities and accumulating snow on roads”.
Officials said on Wednesday that the arctic air encompassing the eastern two-thirds of the US will persist with a slow return to normal temperatures expected by the end of the week.
Multiple record low temperatures and record cold afternoon highs are forecast through midweek, the National Weather Service added, especially along the Gulf coast and portions of the south-east US.
Wind chills of -20F (-28.8C) to -30F (-34.4C) are forecast at times across the upper midwest and north-east, posing a heightened risk of hypothermia and frostbite. Below-zero wind chills are also expected to continue from the central plains eastward across the Ohio valley.
