Severe winter storm in sun-soaked US gulf coast leaves 8 dead, 132000 without power, 1300 flights hit

A major winter storm has impacted the southern United States, delivering over 5 inches of snow across Texas and the northern Gulf Coast as it advanced eastward on Wednesday. Regions including the Florida Panhandle, Georgia, and the eastern Carolinas experienced heavy snowfall, sleet and freezing rain.

An influx of Arctic air from the North Pole has plunged much of the Midwest and eastern US into severe cold, resulting in eight reported fatalities. The forecast predicts dangerously low temperatures and extreme wind chills for much of the week in these areas.

Weather warnings indicated that major cities like Jacksonville, Florida, would experience ongoing snow, sleet, and ice accumulation throughout Wednesday. Jacksonville International Airport closed on Tuesday evening but planned to reopen on Wednesday afternoon. Schools canceled classes, and government offices were also shut down.

By Wednesday morning, over 1,300 flights within or to/from the US had been canceled, with more than 900 delays reported according to FlightAware.com. Airports in Houston aimed to resume operations on Wednesday morning after halting flights the previous day. Similarly, airlines at New Orleans' Louis Armstrong International Airport were preparing to restart flights after nearly all were canceled on Tuesday.

New Orleans recorded snowfall after a decade, with some areas experiencing up to 10 inches—setting a new record that surpassed the previous high of 2.7 inches from December 31, 1963. The National Weather Service remarked on the historic nature of this snowfall in a social media post.

Power outages affected over 132,000 customers across the region as of Friday morning, with significant numbers in Georgia and Florida. In response to the storm's impact, governors in states such as Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida declared states of emergency and many schools suspended in-person activities for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Additionally, a state of emergency was declared in at least a dozen counties in New York due to expected lake-effect snow accumulation of up to 2 feet around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie through Wednesday.

With AP inputs