Freezing weather blankets Gulf Coast states, could bring historic snowfall

Areas of the country that don’t regularly deal with freezing temperatures are now in the middle of a cold snap.

Several states including Georgia and Florida are under states of emergency declarations because of the winter weather.

A blizzard warning was issued for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana, the first for that area.

“The last time we saw snow of this magnitude was way back in 1960, and prior to that, the previous snowfall record that even stands to this day was way back in 1895,” National Weather Service meteorologist Donald Jones said, according to The Associated Press. “By modern standards this is going to be a historic and very memorable storm for this part of the world.”

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Lakesha Reed, a catering manager in New Orleans was scheduled to fly to Washington, D.C. to cook for an event there. Her flight was canceled along with outers because of the freezing temperatures. She said it was in the 30s on Monday afternoon, which is rare and people are not used to it.

“We can barely drive in the rain,” she said, according to the AP. “Last year, we wore shorts for Mardi Gras.”

Officials warned people to stay home and not go out because road ice can make travel dangerous. There may also be power outages caused by snow and ice.

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In Houston, the Texas palm trees and beaches were covered with snow and it continued to fall on Tuesday morning, The Washington Post reported.

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp already issued a state of emergency for a storm that will bring up to 2 inches of snow on Tuesday, WSB reported.

WJAX said the winter weather will hit southern Georgia and northern Florida on Tuesday evening and there is a chance of frozen precipitation after midnight in northeast Florida.

WFTV reported that the arctic blast will bring rain, wind and maybe a light wintery mix to some of Central Florida.

But it isn’t just the south dealing with frigid temperatures.

The Post reported that with windchill, it may feel like -40 in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. North Carolina will see temperatures that feel like -10. The bitterly cold temperatures will stick through Wednesday.

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