It's like "bomb cyclone" or "firenado." It seems like the sort of phenomenon that would be responsible for the record-breaking blast of cold, snow and wintry conditions that reached all the way to the Gulf Coast this week.

Bitter Arctic air plunged more than half the United States into a deep freeze Tuesday, including New Orleans, where the heaviest snow in decades brought dangerous conditions to the famously festive Gulf Coast city.

Winter storm warnings issued by the National Weather Service were in effect for parts of the Mid-Atlantic through Monday morning, and warnings began in New England on Sunday afternoon. Heavy lake-effect snow was expected in western New York state Monday through Wednesday morning,