A rare frigid storm brings heavy snow, sleet and ice to Texas and the northern Gulf Coast

A rare frigid storm is charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow, closing highways and grounding nearly all flights. School was canceled Tuesday for students in areas more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days. The storm has prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border. 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 U.S. into a deep freeze. Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. have been canceled and about 10,000 more are delayed.