The heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern US into a deep freeze.

North Florida residents from Pensacola to Jacksonville are bracing for what is expected to be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime winter storm.

Snow and ice had ground road travel at a halt in some places, and at least two people died in Texas. Many school districts had closed throughout a region unaccustomed to snow.

The record snowfall comes as a significant winter storm is sweeping across parts of the Gulf Coast, including the Florida Panhandle. Winter Storm Warnings are in effect across North Florida and the entire Panhandle.

Meteorologist Dr. Ryan Truchelut, of Tallahassee-based WeatherTiger, is tracking a Florida winter storm for the ages in a livestreamed forecast.

Dangerous below-freezing temperatures with even colder wind chills were also expected to last over much of the week in the region. Authorities say three people have died in the cold weather.

Florida and Texas were both under winter storm warning from the National Weather Service (NWS) on Tuesday morning as an arctic air mass caused plunging temperatures and heavy snow along the Gulf Coast.

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.