People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)2025-01-21T21:21:47Z A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. South on Tuesday was dumping snow at levels millions of residents havent 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 midday Tuesday within striking distance of the state record of 13 inches set in 1960.Baton Rouge, Louisiana, had 6 inches. More than 5 inches had fallen in New Orleans, breaking the record of 2.7 set in 1963. In Texas, the Houston-Galveston area had 2.4 inches before midday. A person walks on a snow covered street 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) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More The National Weather Services 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. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for a lot of these folks down there. For kids that have never had snowball fights theyre going to have one, said Tom Kines, a meteorologist at AccuWeather. The U.S. Gulf Coast is the most hurricane-prone region in the country and snow is a fairly rare phenomenon, said Bradley Brokamp, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Houston. You dont usually get them in the same areas that often, Brokamp said. The combination is more typical in the Northeast that sees snowy winters and the occasional tropical storm. 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 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) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More In Houston, where 2 to 4 inches of snow was forecast, the Yale Street Grill was virtually the only business open in one inner-city neighborhood. A couple of the restaurants workers had time to venture outside and build a 3-foot tall snowman complete with carrot nose and scarf. Ive seen all the storms. Ive been through all the hurricanes. So, this has been really fun. I have a 4-year-old daughter at home who Im ready to get back to so she can play in the snow, said Emma Kratky, a waitress and assistant manger. Elsewhere, Floridas Panhandle had a forecast of 2 to 4 inches. The states snowfall record is 4 inches, set March 6, 1954. Mobile was forecast to get 3 to 6 inches; its record is 5 inches, set Jan. 24, 1881.Even the double-digit snowfall near Lafayette was well short of the Valentines Day snowstorm that struck parts of the Gulf Coast in 1895. That storm dumped 19 inches on Houston and 15.4 on Galveston. Paige Encarnacion builds a snowman on the beach during a winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) Paige Encarnacion builds a snowman on the beach during a winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More Winter cold blasts and climate changeMeanwhile, cold is blanketing the majority of the continental U.S. thanks to a polar vortex disruption. The Arctic polar vortex is a band of strong winds above the North Pole that usually locks in extremely cold air, but right now is stretching south, allowing bone-chilling air to flow down. For example, parts of south central and southeast Texas are expected to see wind chills as low as 10 to 15 degrees into Wednesday, according to an extreme cold warning from the NWS. Scientists say these stretching events are becoming more frequent and have been linked to the planet-warming emissions that humans are releasing. Studies report human-caused climate change is raising Arctic temperatures at an alarming rate and decreasing the pressure and temperature differences between cold Arctic air and warmer air underneath it, heightening the chance for polar vortex disruptions. People walk in the French Quarter as snow falls in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) People walk in the French Quarter as snow falls in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) Share Share Copy Link copied Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Read More ___Associated Press reporter Kristie Rieken contributed from Houston. ___The Associated Press climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find APs standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org. RSShttps://feedx.net https://feedx.site