New Orleans — A major winter storm that slammed Texas and blanketed the northern Gulf Coast with record-breaking snow moved east Wednesday, spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and eastern Carolinas.

Florida just saw the most snow on record, with a preliminary 8.8 inches observed in Milton, which is north of Pensacola.

Roughly 40 million people from Texas to the Carolinas are under winter weather alerts as a rare winter storm amid bone-chilling temperatures brings potentially historic snowfall to cities unused to harsh,

Blizzard warnings were issued for areas near the Gulf Coast as a massive winter storm hits the South. Nearly 250 million Americans are under cold weather advisories or extreme cold warnings.

The biggest impact from the winter storm will be felt along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts where it does not snow very often.

Airports are readying for major disruptions in Texas, Louisiana and along the Gulf Coast before anticipated wintry blast.

Multiple states in the southern and southeastern U.S. were at risk of power outages as winter storms were predicted to move through parts of the region.

A "Freeze Warning" is in effect across southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, Oklahoma and eastern Texas, as well as in small parts of Arizona, California and Florida, with temperatures falling as low as 27, and wind chills expected to feel as cold as low as 13 in some areas.

The storm prompted the first-ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snowplows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle.

A rare winter storm blankets Louisiana and Florida in snow, with icy conditions heading to Coastal Virginia and North Carolina. Unusual weather grips the South!

Agents with the Mississippi Agriculture and Livestock Theft Bureau (MALTB) assisted in the arrest of a Louisiana man, who was wanted in several states for writing fraudulent checks to purchase livestock and agricultural equipment.

Former UConn head football coach Bob Diaco is expected to join Bill Belichick’s staff as linebackers coach at North Carolina, according to multiple reports.