Rare snowstorm blankets Houston and New Orleans in white

By Georgina McCartney and Brendan O'Brien

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A uncommon wintertime tempest churned crossed the U.S. Gulf Coast connected Tuesday, bringing dense snow, crystal and upwind gusts to a portion wherever flurries are unusual, portion overmuch of the United States remained successful a unsafe heavy freeze.

As the tempest moved east, crews adjacent Houston plowed highways, portion downtown streets, covered successful white, were virtually deserted during the greeting rush.

In the halfway of Houston, fewer radical ventured retired into the snowfall arsenic immoderate restaurants and bars remained closed. The Houston metro obstruction was moving but passengers were scarce. Schools were closed Tuesday and Wednesday arsenic the metropolis expected astir 4 inches (10 cm) of snowfall to fall.

"I've been successful Texas my full beingness and I person ne'er seen this extent of snow," said Ishan Bhaidani, 29, who owns a fintech consulting institution successful Houston. "It typically gets much icy but this benignant of good snow, this is simply a first."

Authorities successful Houston are investigating 2 imaginable weather-related deaths, including a stateless antheral who was recovered dormant adjacent an flat complex, the Harris County Sheriff said connected X.

Snow was besides falling successful New Orleans, wherever arsenic overmuch arsenic 8 inches were expected to accumulate by the extremity of the day, threatening to necktie a grounds acceptable successful 1895. The past clip the metropolis received immoderate measurable snowfall was 2009, according to the National Weather Service. 

"Stay location and enactment disconnected the roads," said a bundled-up New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell arsenic winds whipped snowfall successful her look successful a video connection to residents connected X.

The tempest is expected to crawl done Mississippi, Georgia and Florida aboriginal this week. Up to 5 inches of snowfall were forecast for Mobile, Alabama, wherever specified accumulations person not been seen successful much than 60 years, according to the NWS.  

A snowstorm informing was successful effect for 31 cardinal radical - from confederate Texas eastbound done Georgia and northbound to the Carolinas and into Virginia - connected Tuesday until Wednesday morning, the work said.

Hundreds of flights successful and retired of the region's airports were delayed oregon canceled connected Tuesday morning. Some 960 flights departing oregon bound for Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport were canceled, according to Flightaware.com.

Temperatures were expected to dip connected Tuesday into azygous digits Fahrenheit, good beneath freezing, crossed the region. Forecasters and section leaders urged residents to support themselves from frostbite and to instrumentality steps to support their h2o pipes from rupturing.  

Across the South, the snow, combined with an inch of crystal accumulation and upwind gusts of up to 40 miles per hr (64 kph), could marque roadworthy and aerial question hard for respective days, portion threatening to topple powerfulness lines and trees, forecasters said. 

In southeastern Texas, immoderate 30,000 homes and businesses were without power, according to Poweroutage.us.

"While we experienced a fewer isolated outages, our strategy wide remained steady," CenterPoint Energy (NYSE:), which provides energy to the Houston area, said successful a statement.

Texas ports and pilots, who assistance successful guiding vessels, suspended immoderate operations connected Monday arsenic frigid upwind deed the state.

Atlanta, Georgia, and Montgomery, Alabama, opened warming centers and closed authorities offices successful anticipation of the storm. Numerous schoolhouse districts canceled classes, according to section news.    

To the north, astir of the eastbound two-thirds of the United States were experiencing brutally acold temperatures arsenic an Arctic beforehand was expected to linger done astatine slightest Tuesday. 

It was -5 degrees Fahrenheit (-21 degrees Celsius) successful Chicago, 5 F successful Cleveland and 11 F successful New York City, the NWS said. Those greeting readings were balmy compared to the -39 F (-39 C) recorded adjacent Grand Lake, Colorado, the coldest spot successful the U.S. connected Tuesday morning.