Meteorologists were left speechless Tuesday as record amounts of snow fell along the Gulf Coast. Here’s why it was so snowy.

A winter storm pummeled the southern United States with ice and snow Tuesday. Here's how much snow fell in Florida, Texas, Alabama and more.

A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. South on Tuesday was dumping snow at levels millions of residents haven’t seen before

For example, Lake Charles, La., along the Gulf Coast, showed snowfall rates of over 1 inch per hour this morning and early afternoon and visibility down to a quarter of a mile with blowing snow. This is one of the reasons why blizzard warnings were posted briefly for that region earlier.

Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and even Florida are seeing snowfall as a powerful blast of Arctic air mixed with Gulf moisture works its way across the Southeast.