By J. David Goodman New York Times
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HOUSTON — A powerful winter storm tore across the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, delivering a bizarre blast of Arctic cold that smothered Houston and New Orleans in snowfall totals unseen for decades, before stalking toward Georgia, the Florida Panhandle and the Carolinas.

At least two people died of exposure in Austin, Texas, and one in Atlanta. Sun Belt officials acknowledged their lack of preparation for a snowfall the likes of which most of them had never experienced; many counties in the storm’s path have no snow plows.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida urged residents to stay off the roads, saying his state’s infrastructure was not designed to handle snow. Officials in Mobile, Alabama, told residents to assume “all roads and bridges are impassable until further notice.” Schools were closed in many districts.

Parts of Louisiana and Texas received their first-ever blizzard warnings. The highest snowfall total by midday was a record 10.5 inches in Rayne, Louisiana, just west of Lafayette, according to reports to the National Weather Service.

About 3 to 4 inches of snow had fallen by Tuesday afternoon in Houston, the most in a generation. The city’s two airports canceled all flights, and the weather service advised drivers to stay off the roads “at all costs.” The Texas electricity grid, crippled by a major winter storm in 2021, was holding steady.

Airports across the Southeast closed, and more than 2,000 flights were canceled. Rail service also took a hit, with Amtrak announcing cancellations and delays in Texas and Louisiana.

It was also a breathtaking experience for many residents who were experiencing snow for the first time in years, or ever. In New Orleans, levees built to hold the Mississippi River at bay provided perfect slopes for sledding.

“It seemed like it was scientifically impossible for it to snow here,” said Owen Reilly, 9. He had never seen it happen in his lifetime.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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