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

A historic winter storm swept across the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, bringing heavy snow and icy conditions to the Southeast while most of the country was facing dangerously cold temperatures from an arctic blast that arrived over the weekend.

Weather forecasters and public agencies issued health and power loss warnings Tuesday as a “rare winter storm" gripped parts of the southern and eastern United States."A bitterly cold airmass will remain in place for much of the South and eastern U.