In Pictures: Massive winter storm paralyzes US South with heavy snow

A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. South on Tuesday was dumping snow at levels millions of residents haven’t seen before.

Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was combining with a low-pressure system and chilly air to drop significant amounts of snow in some spots. That included 10.5 inches near Lafayette, Louisiana by Tuesday afternoon — within striking distance of the state record of 13 inches set in 1960.

New Orleans Winter Storm — Heavy snow blankets Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Michael DeMocker / Getty Images

The National Weather Service said 7 to 8 inches of snow had been reported in areas between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. New Orleans’ old record was 2.7 inches set in 1963. In Texas, the Houston-Galveston area had 2 to 4 inches before midday.

People walk in the French Quarter as snow falls in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person uses cross-country skis as he walks through a snow covered hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A person walks on a snow covered street Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The National Weather Service’s Lake Charles, Louisiana, office issued its first-ever blizzard warning Tuesday. The NWS’ Mobile office reposted video on X of two people having a snowball fight in Orange Beach, Alabama, just steps from the Gulf of Mexico.

Lake Effect Snow Pummels Buffalo, New York area — Jayson MacDonald clears snow today outside his home in Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo. John Normile / Getty Images

It appeared Florida had broken its state snowfall record of 4 inches, set in Milton on March 6, 1954. The National Weather Service’s Mobile office said Pensacola had gotten 5 inches.

Houston Winter Storm — A snow-covered highway in Houston on Monday.David J. Phillip / AP

That office also said Mobile’s airport had gotten 6.2 inches, surpassing the old record of 5 inches set Jan. 24, 1881.

Houston snow storm — A walk in the storm.Ashley Landis / AP

Winter storm in Houston — The dogs need to get out, despite the weather.Ashley Landis / AP

A woman walking down Bourbon Street in the snow. — The scene in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Jan. 21, as a record 8 inches of snow fell. Photo: Michael DeMocker/Getty Images

Even the double-digit snowfall near Lafayette was well short of the Valentine’s Day snowstorm that struck parts of the Gulf Coast in 1895. That storm dumped 19 inches on Houston and 15.4 on Galveston.