DDN – The Gulf Coast is recovering from a once-in-a-lifetime snowstorm that hit from Texas to Florida, closing airports, crippling roadways, and leaving frigid temperatures in its aftermath.
The storm and its accompanying cold blast have killed at least ten people. According to the local paper, one person died in a house fire after leaving their stove on to keep warm, and another died in a car accident.
According to officials, one person died from hypothermia in Georgia and two people died from exposure to the cold in Austin, Texas.
A tractor-trailer crashed with other vehicles on an ice route southwest of San Antonio, killing five people, according to the Texas Department of Safety. This storm dumped more snow on several cities than any other storm in the past 130 years.
Florida had the greatest snowfall on record, with 9.8 inches reported in Milton, northeast of Pensacola.
Pensacola also set a city record of 8.9 inches. Texas experienced its first blizzard warning. Beaumont, Texas received 5.2 inches of snow, setting a record.
Mobile, Alabama experienced an all-time high of 7.5 inches. Baton Rouge, Louisiana received 7.6 inches of rainfall. The city of New Orleans recorded 8 inches of snow, the most since 1895.
The threat is not finished. An extreme cold warning is in force from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle Thursday morning, with temperatures in some portions of the Gulf Coast plunging as low as 12 degrees.
According to state scientist Jay Grymes, this is the coldest weather in Louisiana in over 100 years.
While much of the snow has gone, the freeze continues to pose a major threat. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Joe Donahue is asking “everyone to avoid unnecessary travel.”
Many of the places hardest damaged by the storm will thaw soon, with temperatures anticipated to reach the 50s and 60s on Sunday.
Reference: At least 10 dead after record-breaking snowstorm swept across the South
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