A major winter storm slammed the southern US Tuesday, blanketing parts of the Gulf Coast with record-breaking snowfall in a region largely unaccustomed to extreme winter weather.

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

Snow and ice had ground road travel to a halt in some places and at least two people died in Texas. Many school districts had closed throughout a region unaccustomed to snow.