Global Warming? The South Hit with Winter Weather

A winter storm has crossed over the south, surprising many with snow, ice, and frigid temperatures. Gerald Herbert and David J. Phillip report for the Associated Press:

A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow, closing highways, grounding nearly all flights and canceling school for millions of students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days.

The storm prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snow plows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle. Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.

Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, with about 10,000 others delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. In Texas, both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday in expectation of hazardous conditions.

Nearly every flight was cancelled at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, though officials said the airport itself would remain open “as long as the conditions are safe.” Most airlines plan to resume normal operations Wednesday.

The East Coast was blanketed in snow while people from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine shivered in bitterly cold temperatures from the frigid arctic air mass that plunged temperatures well below normal. Dangerously cold wind chills were expected through Tuesday morning.

In New Orleans, 65-year-old Robert Hammock donned a beanie and rallied himself and his border collie Tillie for a snowy, frosty morning walk.

Read more here.

NEW VIDEO: I’m in Pensacola, Florida, near the border. Already at 2” and it’s still snowing heavy. This is a truly historic event. #Snow #Florida @spann @stormhour pic.twitter.com/K4dIdVzgZt

— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWX) January 21, 2025