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.

The snowstorm currently lashing the Gulf Coast is being described as a once in a generation weather event, the National Weather Service said Monday.

A historic winter storm is expected to bring rare heavy snowfall and ice to states along the Gulf Coast and could impact as many as 55 million people through midweek, according to national

A significant portion of I-10 is closed in both directions in Louisiana west of Baton Rouge to the Texas border.

An historic January storm dumped more deep snow along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday after bringing Houston and New Orleans to a near standstill over the past two days and burying parts of Florida's Panhandle with accumulations more typical of Chicago.

Preparations are underway from Houston to Atlanta as a rare winter storm sets its sights on the southern U.S., where it's expected to bring a messy mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that could have a major impact on travel and daily life.

Snow totals in Louisiana have broken records. Parts of Florida, Texas and Georgia have also accumulated several inches of snow.

Over 10 inches of snow has been reported in Louisiana as a historic, unprecedented snowstorm slams the South. The snow is falling across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, bringing many roads to a standstill.

A winter storm pummeled the southern United States with ice and snow Tuesday. Here's how much snow fell in Florida, Texas, Alabama and more.

Florida just saw the most snow on record, with a preliminary 8.8 inches observed in Milton, which is north of Pensacola.

The rare Southern storm prompted this headline from the Anchorage Daily News: "Hey, New Orleans, please send some of your snow to Anchorage."