Snow was falling in the Houston area Monday night, forecasters said, as more than 55 million people could be affected by a historic winter storm expected to bring rare snow and frigid temperatures throughout the Gulf Coast region until midweek.
The storm will bring snow and ice by Monday night to Houston; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; and other cities throughout the South.
Both of Houston’s major airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport, said they will suspend flight operations Tuesday starting at midnight.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry warned Monday that people should stay home and remember to prevent pipes from freezing.
“It is extremely important to stay off the road,” he said at a news conference. “Unless you absolutely need to be on the road, stay at home and stay warm.”
Most of the area will get a dusting of up to 4 inches of snow, but the accumulations in parts of Texas and Louisiana could reach 6 inches, forecasts indicate.
The National Weather Service office for Houston said Monday night that sleet and light snow had been reported as far south as the Interstate 10 corridor, which runs through the Texas city.
Moderate snow is expected by Tuesday along I-10 from New Orleans to the Florida Panhandle, and icy conditions should prevail in Tallahassee and Jacksonville, Florida.
The winter storm could be crippling to the Gulf Coast, where most cities do not have snowplows, national forecasters said.
The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development said it had accumulated 400,000 pounds of salt that it could spread over roads and bridges if needed for the snow and ice, and officials were mapping out a plan for possible road closures.
Temperatures will be below freezing in Louisiana, and with wind chills it will be in the teens in New Orleans and other parts of the state early Tuesday, the National Weather Service said. Wind chills will likely be 6 to 9 degrees in southwest Mississippi on Wednesday, the agency said.
Freezing rain threatens to stretch north into coastal Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, forecasters said.
Later in the week, snow off the Atlantic coast and heavy rain will affect the Florida Peninsula.
Cold alerts were in effect Monday for 214 million people stretching from the Rocky Mountains to southern Texas and central Florida, with temperatures 20 to 40 degrees below average, forecasters said.
Several areas in the South and along the Gulf Coast will experience below-freezing temperatures for more than 24 hours, which could cause infrastructure issues, such as widespread pipe bursts, officials said.
Wind chills will cause temperatures to feel like minus 55 degrees in some parts of the Rockies, the northern Plains and the Upper Midwest.
Below-zero wind chills will affect the Northeast on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Lastly, possible cold records could be set in Missouri, Texas, Louisiana and Alabama.
