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

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.

Here's a look at snowfall totals from Tuesday's winter storm that blanketed Houston and parts Louisiana in multiple inches of the white stuff.

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.

That's wild considering it hasn't snowed in New Orleans since 2009, and their last "big" snowstorm was in 2008 when 1-2 inches fell. Up to five inches of snow could accumulate in the Houston area. The all-time record snowfall in Houston is 3.0 inches, so this is very clearly a historic situation.

Cities along the Interstate 10 corridor only experience frozen precipitation a few times during a generation. The last measurable snowfall in Houston occurred on February 15, 2021.