HOUSTON – A powerful and rare winter storm swept across the South on Tuesday, bringing the first-ever Blizzard Warning to the Gulf Coast and blasting communities from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas with record-shattering snow that snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt.
“Honestly, it’s been a jaw-dropping 24 hours,” FOX Weather Meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “I mean, to see some of the images that we have shown you on FOX Weather is something that you only see once in a generation. This truly will be a storm that decades from now we’ll have a new generation of kids being like, ‘Where were you in 2025 during that time?’”
Houston hammered by historic snow
The historic winter storm first impacted Texas, where “several fatalities” were reported during a crash east of the community of La Pryor early Tuesday morning, according to Uvalde County Constable Emmanuel Zamora.
The storm continued on its journey to the east, bringing snow and sleet around Austin and San Antonio before interacting with moisture over the Gulf of Mexico.
The storm then began to strengthen over southeastern Texas, dropping snow across the Houston metro as temperatures dropped and wind chills made it feel even colder.
Roads and highways, including the busy Interstate 10 corridor, were covered in snow and ice, which led to numerous reports of crashes and closed sections of the highway for hours.
George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU) in Houston were shut down on Tuesday. Officials said flight operations were set to resume on Wednesday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, HOU picked up 3 inches of snow on Tuesday, making it the most snow in one day since Jan. 30, 1949, when 3.1 inches fell. This is now the third-snowiest day on record at the airport.
Classes were canceled at schools and universities across the region, and hospitals canceled outpatient appointments. Port Houston was also expected to remain closed on Wednesday.
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Big Easy sees big snow
The combination of heavy snow and high wind gusts then brought blizzard and near-blizzard conditions to the Gulf Coast, triggering the first-ever Blizzard Warning for the Gulf coasts of Louisiana and southeastern Texas.
The record-breaking storm brought heavy snow to New Orleans, blanketing palm trees in fresh flakes and halting the normally busy Big Easy.
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New Orleans shattered its one-day snow total record by noon when Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) recorded 8 inches of snow. The new record breaks the Dec. 31, 1963, record of 2.7 inches.
Most flights at MSY were canceled on Tuesday, and, pending weather conditions, most flights were expected to resume on Wednesday.
Flakes fly across Florida Panhandle
Florida also saw major impacts from the winter storm, with officials urging residents to prepare as the system continued to move off to the east.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency ahead of the winter weather, which was expected to be the worst in decades.
Rare Winter Storm Warnings were issued from Pensacola to Jacksonville, and travel was reported to be treacherous due to the snow and ice.
A nearly 70-mile stretch of Interstate 10 was closed from the Alabama/Florida state line to east of Crestview, Florida.
Officials said they had pre-treated roads, but the hazardous weather led to a series of crashes.
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Mobile, Alabama, saw its snowiest day on record Tuesday when at least 7.5 inches of snow fell.
Pensacola, too, was a winter wonderland and picked up 7.6 inches of snow. That shattered its all-time snowiest day on record, which was set on March 6, 1954, when 2.3 inches fell. In nearby Milton, about 8.8 inches of snow was reported.
According to National Weather Service meteorologists in Tallahassee, it will take several days to verify all the snowfall reports and determine if any one city beat out the Pensacola metro for the largest snow measurement ever in the Sunshine State.
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Tallahassee International Airport (TLH) had been open as the storm got underway but announced later in the afternoon that commercial airline flights servicing the airport were canceled after 3 p.m. Officials said they were hopeful that the airport would reopen around noon on Wednesday.
Similar cancellations were planned at the Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), where the last departing flight was expected to leave around 8 p.m., with operations returning to normal by noon on Wednesday.
