A rare winter storm charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast left New Orleans and Houston frozen Tuesday, closing highways, grounding nearly all flights and canceling school for millions of students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days.

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.

Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are spreading east across parts of the Florida panhandle and eastern Carolinas, closing roads and schools and grounding flights.