The rare winter storm that is hitting the southern portion of the United States became historic Tuesday morning when the Lake Charles National Weather Service office issued its first-ever blizzard warning.

NWS issued an early Tuesday warning for an unprecedented weather event in southwest Louisiana and southeast Texas

Houstonians, and most in the Gulf region stretching from Galveston to Lake Charles, Louisiana, woke up Tuesday with several inches of snow and subfreezing temperatures. Houston airports and schools remain closed.