A powerful and rare winter storm swept across the South on Tuesday, bringing the first-ever Blizzard Warning to the Gulf Coast and blasting communities from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas with record-shattering snow that snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt.

The heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern US into a deep freeze.

A winter storm that dropped record-breaking snow across the South moved into Florida. Some people are seeing snow for the first time.

Houston's two airports reopened after being closed for 24 hours because of the winter storm. Now, airline passengers are trying to get things back on track.