A major winter storm that slammed Texas and the northern Gulf Coast is spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida panhandle and eastern Carolinas.

Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the Midwest and the eastern US into a deep freeze.

A record-breaking and rare winter storm hit the southern US Wednesday — dumping snow on New Orleans for the first time in15 years, and triggering the Gulf Coast’s first ever blizzard warning. The historic snowfall — which slammed areas from Florida to Texas starting Tuesday — snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt in regions unprepared for the freak weather event.