Worse conditions expected in Houston as temperatures drop overnight
The greater Houston area has been hit by historic levels of snow and ice this week — but the threat of even worse winter weather remains. “The ice is going to worsen as temperatures drop overnight,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo told a new conference last night.
Forecasters expect 3 to 4 inches of snow in the Houston/Galveston area overnight, with wind chill bringing temperatures down to minus 10 Fahrenheit. An extreme cold weather warning is in place until 9 a.m. CT.
The mayor warned that as well as the risk of accidents, residents may encounter frozen water pipes or fires caused by space heaters and chimneys.
There have been at least 168 road accidents since the winter weather began across Harris County, which includes Houston, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
Snow causes chaos in northern Florida
A man removes a layer of snow from his windshield as others play outside their home in Tallahassee, Fla., in the early hours of today. The National Weather Service has placed North Florida under a winter storm warning, with some predicting the Gulf’s biggest snow and ice storm in more than 100 years.
Three Louisiana parishes still under curfews
Dangers posed by this week's wintry blast have prompted three Louisiana parishes to issue curfews and urge people to stay off the roads.
Lafourche Parish began is curfew at 8 a.m. yesterday, it will remain in place while icy conditions persist.
St. Bernard Parish started its curfew at 6 p.m. yesterday because of the high levels of snow, and it is due to last until noon today.
The city of Picayune issued a curfew at 6 p.m. yesterday and it is due to expire at 7 a.m. today.
Total snow levels on Louisiana's snowiest day in 100 years
Several parts of Louisiana recorded 10 inches of snow yesterday in the rare winter storm that has gripped the Gulf Coast, making travel hazardous or impossible.
As NBC affiliate WDSU of New Orleans reported, 6 to 10 inches fell across the Big Easy and many bayou parishes that are more used to baking sunshine. The storm outperformed forecasters' predictions, which said up to 8 inches of snow would fall.
More than 90,000 without power along Gulf Coast
This week's unlikely winter storm has left more than 90,000 energy customers without power this morning, including 36,000 in Florida and 34,000 in Georgia, according to PowerOutage.us.
The worst-affected counties include Wakulla in coastal northwest Florida, where more than 11,000 connections are down,
New Orleans blanketed in snow
Beneath the hanging Mardi Gras beads, locals stopped to watch snow fall in the Gentilly neighborhood of New Orleans yesterday, as others passed by the famous Cafe Du Monde beignet stand in the historic French Quarter.
Rare winter storm moves across the Gulf Coast
Several states declared emergencies as temperatures are expected to be 20 to 30 degrees below the January average in much of the South and the East. NBC News’ Priscilla Thompson details what officials are doing to make sure residents and travelers stay safe.