Though NWS forecasters are still collecting official snowfall counts, these reports give a good look at just how much snow Louisiana saw.

The cold temperatures are coming from a not uncommon expansion in the Polar Vortex, which are counter-clockwise rotating air currents that typically hang over the Arctic.

ATLANTA — A rare winter storm charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday has closed highways and airports and prompted the first blizzard warning for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

The Interstate 10 closure spans nearly the entire state, ending west of the Mississippi state line east of New Orleans.

A National Weather Service office in Louisiana issued its first-ever blizzard warning on Tuesday amid snow and strong winds.

Schools are closed, snow is falling in places where it usually doesn't and freezing temperatures are sweeping across the South as a winter storm tracks across states including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,

Local interstates and elevated bridges will close early Tuesday morning as freezing temperatures and snow impact the New Orleans area. Interstate 10 will be closed at 4 a.m. in Orleans, Jefferson and St. Charles parishes, according to DOTD.

For example, Lake Charles, La., along the Gulf Coast, showed snowfall rates of over 1 inch per hour this morning and early afternoon and visibility down to a quarter of a mile with blowing snow. This is one of the reasons why blizzard warnings were posted briefly for that region earlier.

A rare winter storm charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday has closed highways and airports and prompted the first blizzard warning for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

A winter storm that rolled through Southeast Texas and the U.S. Gulf Coast dumped multiple inches of snow on Tuesday across a region already gripped by freezing temperatures. How much snow did Houston get and how does that compare to the snowfalls in New Orleans and across the deep South and Gulf Coast?

Over 10 inches of snow has been reported in Louisiana as a historic, unprecedented snowstorm slams the South. The snow is falling across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida, bringing many roads to a standstill.

According to DOTD, de-icing efforts are starting in the Lafayette and Lake Charles area. Crews will then work east as progress is made on the roads.