A powerful and rare winter storm swept across the South on Tuesday, bringing the first-ever Blizzard Warning to the Gulf Coast and blasting communities from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas with record-shattering snow that snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt.

A powerful and dangerous winter storm sweeping across the South is dumping heavy snow across Houston and other major metropolitan areas along the Interstate 10 corridor, prompting the first-ever Blizzard Warning along portions of the Gulf Coast.