'Once in a lifetime' snow blankets Louisiana, Florida panhandle

A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. South on Tuesday was dumping snow at levels millions of residents haven’t seen before.

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was combining with chilly air to drop significant amounts of snow in some spots. That included 10.5 inches near Lafayette, Louisiana by Tuesday afternoon — within striking distance of the 64-year-old state record of 13 inches set in 1960.

The National Weather Service said 7 to 8 inches of snow had been reported in areas between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. New Orleans’ old record was 2.7 inches set in 1963. In Texas, the Houston-Galveston area had 2 to 4 inches before midday.

The National Weather Service’s Lake Charles, Louisiana, office issued its first-ever blizzard warning Tuesday. Mobile’s airport had gotten 6.2 inches, surpassing the old record of 5 inches set Jan. 24, 1881.

Along the Florida panhandle, it appeared Florida had broken its state snowfall record of 4 inches, set in Milton on March 6, 1954. The National Weather Service’s Mobile office said Pensacola had gotten 6.5 inches. As of Tuesday night, Miramar Beach reported 3.3 inches, Navarre 4 inches, Panama City 3.5 inches and Destin 2.8 inches.

Meanwhile, cold is blanketing the majority of the continental U.S. thanks to a polar vortex disruption. The Arctic polar vortex is a band of strong winds above the North Pole that usually locks in extremely cold air, but right now is stretching south, allowing bone-chilling air to flow down. For example, parts of south central and southeast Texas are expected to see wind chills as low as 10 to 15 degrees into Wednesday, according to an extreme cold warning from the NWS.



(AP Photo Gerald Herbert)