A major storm spread heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle, Georgia and the coastal Carolinas on Wednesday after breaking snow records in Texas and Louisiana, treating the region to unaccustomed perils and wintertime joy.

The snow storm could hit over a dozen states through Wednesday, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Parts of northern Florida are digging out Wednesday after being hit by the winter storm that's rolled through the southern U.S. this week. The storm is expected to move into Georgia and the Carolinas Wednesday.

Parched Southern California continued to face dangerous winds but could get some badly needed rain this weekend, forecasters said Tuesday, dampening the prospects of another round of killer wildfires though even a small amount of precipitation could could create new challenges like toxic ash runoff.

A second day of ferocious winds were forecast for Tuesday in Southern California where firefighters remained on alert and extreme fire weather raised the risk of new wildfires two weeks after two major blazes still burning in the Los Angeles area sparked.