Photos of the rare winter storm blanketing the South in snow

Tue, January 21, 2025 at 9:59 PM UTC

3 min read

Snow falls on Chartres Street in New Orleans

A view of the French Quarter in New Orleans on Tuesday. (Michael DeMocker/Getty Images)

A rare, historic snowfall blanketed parts of the southern U.S. on Tuesday, allowing residents to play in the rather unusual weather. Families went snow tubing in Houston. People made snowballs and snow angels. People were even seen skiing on Bourbon Street.

The storm gave New Orleans its first measurable snowfall for the first time in 15 years. In nearby Kenner, La., 4 inches of snow was reported. The last time the area got any measurable snow was in 2009 and it was one-tenth of an inch thick, while the city’s record snowfall was 2.7 inches in 1963, Axios reported.

New Orleans, a city primarily known for its heat and humidity, is likely to experience 4 to 7 inches of snow as the National Weather Service issued its first-ever blizzard warning for southern areas of Louisiana.

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This comes as much of the U.S. is experiencing its coldest temperatures of the season, with nearly 220 million residents across 40 states facing brutally cold temperatures and dangerous wind chills from an arctic air mass that has settled over a large swath of the country.

Other areas in the South are experiencing intense snowfall, including Houston, which saw more than 4 inches of snow Monday night through Tuesday morning. Parts of coastal Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle are facing winter storm warnings.

Meanwhile, several schools in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana will be closed through Wednesday. FlightAware reported that at least 95% of Tuesday’s flights leaving Houston airports have been canceled, while 89% of New Orleans International flights were canceled.

New Orleans officials have urged residents to stay home and avoid driving. The city itself does not own snowplows but is getting help from the Louisiana Department of Transportation to clear the roads and salt any ice.

During a press conference on Monday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landy warned that if some areas like New Orleans experience more than “that critical 4-inch threshold” of snow, it would “effectively shut down the state for at least a day or two.”

Sous chef Eric Walker enjoying the snow in New Orleans