Kansas City International Airport, for example, has an 85% chance of snowfall exceeding .1 of an inch, according to data from the weather service. The probability of higher snowfall totals drops rapidly, with only a 50% chance of snowfall exceeding 1 inch. The chance of 2 inches or more of snow is less than 10%.

Meteorologists were left speechless Tuesday as record amounts of snow fell along the Gulf Coast. Here’s why it was so snowy.

Snow was falling in New Orleans, where as much as 8 inches were expected to accumulate by the end of the day, threatening to tie a record set in 1895.

A stretch of the southern United States, including Florida, Georgia and Texas, are reeling from a once-in-a-lifetime winter storm that created deadly road conditions and left officials looking for help to manage the cold and snow.