The heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern US into a deep freeze.

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 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.

A winter storm sweeping through the U.S. South on Tuesday was dumping snow at levels millions of residents haven't seen before. Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico was combining with a low-pressure system and chilly air to drop significant amounts of snow in some spots.

A historic winter storm has blanketed the southern United States with record-breaking snowfall, bringing unexpected chaos to regions like Florida. Dia Riley of Scripps News reports from Tampa on the Morning Rush about the astonishing snow accumulations reaching nearly 10 inches in North Florida,