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A rare winter storm is bringing record snowfall to parts of the deep South

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A major winter storm hit parts of the U.S. that don't often see snow, sleet and freezing rain. Wind chills are in the single digits from Texas into Florida. And officials in the region are telling people to stay off the roads, and in some places, they're ordering curfews. Matt Bloom with member station WWNO reports from New Orleans where 10 inches of snow set a record.

MATT BLOOM, BYLINE: I'm standing on the street in my neighborhood in New Orleans and the cars all have a layer of snow over them. Palm trees are frosted over. It's just an incredible sight to see this type of weather in such a tropical place.

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JAY GRYMES: Be ready to stay essentially housebound Wednesday and even into Thursday.

BLOOM: That's Jay Grymes. He's the Louisiana state climatologist. He says, the Gulf states haven't seen this bad of a winter storm since the 1960s, and many homes aren't built for it.

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GRYMES: Widespread power outages, as well as impacts to frozen pipes are going to be an issue across the state.

BLOOM: Dangerous roads are also a big concern, as many cities don't have plows or enough salt trucks to keep up. There's been a lot of car and truck accidents. Transportation officials have shut down airports from Texas to Georgia and several major interstates due to low visibility and ice. Here's Georgia Governor, Brian Kemp.

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BRIAN KEMP: If that participation hits the ground, melts and then refreezes, all of a sudden, you're going to have a lot of chaos out there on the roadways.

BLOOM: As the storm moves east, bone-chilling weather is expected to hang around through at least Thursday. In New Orleans and many towns in the region, most government services and businesses are shut down and residents are stuck at home.

CLARK NELSON: Snowball fight.

BLOOM: Meanwhile, 6-year-old Clark Nelson (ph) is making the most of his first ever snow day. His parents, Nell (ph) and John (ph) are coming up with activities on the fly.

NELL NELSON: Yeah. We got the inner tube from, like, the beach, and we've been dragging him up and down the street. Yeah (laughter).

JOHN NELSON: We weren't really prepared with - you don't have, like, any sleds or anything like that at all. We just had to improvise, you know?

BLOOM: What has it been like tubing around?

CLARK: Oh, like fun.

BLOOM: For the Nelsons and many families in the deep south, this snowstorm will be a memory for a long time to come.

For NPR News, I'm Matt Bloom in New Orleans.

(SOUNDBITE OF IDLE CAVE'S "LUCY") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Matt Bloom