What to know about the rare winter storm
- A "bitterly cold airmass" will grip much of the South and Eastern United States for much of the week, the National Weather Service warned.
- Four deaths are suspected to have been caused by the weather: Two in Austin of suspected hypothermia; one person in Georgia; and one person Sunday in Milwaukee, according to authorities.
- Both of Houston's major airports, George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Hobby Airport, suspended flight operations but are set to reopen in the morning.
- New Orleans saw a reported 9.5 inches of snow, East Baton Rouge Parish got 9 inches, and Baytown, Texas, east of Houston, got 5 inches of snow.
- Omaha, Nebraska, recorded a wind chill of -29 degrees today. The observed high temperature in New York City was 19 degrees (the normal this time of year is the high 30s or the low 40s). And the National Weather Service in Lake Charles, Louisiana, issued its first-ever blizzard warning.
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1 death in Georgia from hypothermia
A person was reported to have died of hypothermia in Georgia during the winter storm that has brought bitter cold and snow to parts of the South, the state’s emergency management director said.
Director Chris Stallings said a critical needs patient got outside and died but did not say where.
With the wind chill, temperatures felt as low as 16 degrees in middle Georgia overnight, according to records from the National Weather Service. In the Atlanta area, it felt like minus 11 degrees around 4 a.m.
Snow to taper off in New Orleans but will remain on ground
While snow from today’s rare winter storm in New Orleans was expected to die down this evening, what’s already on the ground is expected to linger and continue to make driving difficult, a city official said.
“We’re concerned about the next two days,” said Collin M. Arnold, director of the New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Wind chill values for the city are forecast to be as low as 12 degrees tomorrow, the National Weather Service said. Around 6 inches of snow has fallen, Arnold said at a news briefing.
“The continued temperatures being below freezing over the next day and a half, the snow that we have is not really going to go anywhere — and, in fact, probably start to become, you know, ice,” Arnold said. “And so that could be very difficult for our roadways.”
New Orleans Public Schools will remain closed tomorrow and Thursday, the district said.
Drone video shows sledding and snowboarding in Houston
Aerial video taken from above Hermann Park in Houston shows dozens of people sledding and snowboarding.
Forecasters in Georgia caution ‘do not travel’
“Do not travel,” the National Weather Service in Atlanta warned Georgians today amid the winter storm that is making conditions treacherous.
Snow is expected to end this evening, but cold weather will mean there is no chance for road conditions to improve by tomorrow morning, the agency warned.
A winter storm warning remained in effect for the Atlanta area until 7 a.m.
And a cold weather advisory, warning of wind chills as cold as 2 degrees to 10 degrees, will start at 10 tonight and remain in effect until 9 a.m., the weather service said.
2 deaths in Austin believed to be from cold
Two people died in Austin, Texas, from what officials believe was hypothermia, a spokesperson for the city’s EMS service said.
The medical examiner’s office will determine the causes of death, but “all signs point to hypothermia,” the spokesperson said.
The first death occurred after a patient was reported shortly after noon yesterday, and the second happened this morning after a call about a cardiac arrest.
More than 160 crashes reported in Harris County, Texas
There have been about 168 crashes involving vehicles in Harris County, Texas, since 10 o’clock last night as the Houston area was hit by a rare winter snowstorm, the sheriff said today.
No deaths were reported. One person sustained a broken leg today when they got out to push their stalled vehicle and were hit by another vehicle that was unable to stop, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
“It just speaks to the dangerousness of being out in the roadways,” he said at a news conference.
The Houston area got snow and ice, and the police department urged people to stay off the roads and be extra cautious.
NAS Pensacola closed to traffic into and out of base
The historic Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, which has launched countless Navy aviators into the skies, closed its main gate today to incoming and outgoing vehicle traffic.
Commanders shut down "both inbound and outbound traffic due to hazardous road conditions across the bridge leading to the air station brought on by Winter Storm Enzo," the base said in a statement this afternoon.
The base has been a hub for aviation training since before World War I.
Houston’s airports to reopen tomorrow
Houston’s airports, closed today because of the bitter cold and snow, will reopen tomorrow with the first arrivals at 10 a.m., a spokesperson for the airports said.
TSA lines will be open at 9 a.m., and the first departing flight is scheduled for 11 a.m.
The snow has stopped falling in Houston, but all that slush and snow will refreeze tonight, the National Weather Service said. People were cautioned to be careful and limit time outdoors.
Whiteout conditions blanket much of the South
About 46 million people were living under winter weather alerts this afternoon as snow and rain pounded much of the South, from Texas to Virginia.
Another 172 million people are under cold alerts, enduring temperatures 20 to 35 degrees below average throughout wide swaths of the country, including the South, the Great Plains, the Midwest and the interior Northeast.
Low temperatures will drop into the single digits and teens across much of the Ohio Valley and the mid-Atlantic into tonight.
University of Florida closes campus due to winter weather
The University of Florida announced the closing of the Gainesville campus because of winter weather and the potential for icy roads. It will be closed from midnight tonight until 12:30 p.m. tomorrow.
Classes are set to resume with the 12:50 p.m. period, and employees are expected to return to work at 12:30 p.m., UF announced.
The P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School will close at 6 p.m. today and tomorrow, with plans to reopen Thursday. Baby Gator child care services will also be closed tomorrow. Florida Fresh Dining will remain open.
UF Health clinical operations will continue as scheduled. Employees and personnel outside of Alachua County are advised to follow local government closure guidelines.