A rare frigid storm is charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow, closing highways and grounding nearly all flights.

Heavy snow and freezing temperatures are hitting parts of Texas and the Gulf Coast, causing travel disruptions and prompting a number of Southern governors to declare states of emergency. Winter weather — including low temperatures and storms — involves a number of risks,

A winter storm that is expected to begin in Texas next week could end up bringing snow and ice to parts of Florida.

If it warms up enough during the day Tuesday, it’s possible for some of that accumulated snow and ice to melt, but snow or ice that sticks around Tuesday will refreeze Wednesday night, when temperatures are expected to plunge into the 20s or teens, Platt said.

Houston is preparing for a historic winter storm expected to bring up to 6 inches of snow, a rare event not seen in decades.

Millions of people across the northern Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for a rare winter storm that’s expected to scatter heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.

A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow that closed highways, grounded nearly all flights and canceled school for more than a million students more accustomed to hurricane dismissals than snow days.