Anytime we get an Arctic air blast down this far south, this is an artifact of the polar vortex rearing its ugly head,” said climatologist Barry Keim .

The cold temperatures are coming from a not uncommon expansion in the Polar Vortex, which are counter-clockwise rotating air currents that typically hang over the Arctic.

Snow totals were rivalling all-time records. Officials were urging residents to take precautions and stay off roads.

A historic winter storm is poised to produce potentially record-breaking snows from coastal Texas to northern Florida late Monday into Tuesday. The event comes as an Arctic blast affects more than half the U.

People living "basically anywhere from the Rockies eastward" will see extremely cold temperatures over the next several days, a meteorologist says.

NEW ORLEANS -- The vast majority of Americans are about to get an extended taste of frigid Siberian weather. Another polar vortex disruption will stretch Arctic air across the top of the globe and make Donald Trump's second inauguration the coldest in 40 years, meteorologists said.

Parts of the Gulf Coast measured a foot of snow on Tuesday. For many cities the totals obliterate long-standing snowfall records. Milton, Florida recorded 9 inches of snow which more than doubles

People in Texas and much of the U.S. South are facing record snowfalls and icy conditions, with both New Orleans and Houston covered in snow. The big picture: This once-in-a-generation event for millions across the Gulf Coast has closed schools,

An urgent warning has been issued for 235 million Americans as a 'life-threatening' polar vortex will drop ... and Galveston in Texas as well as New Orleans and Alexandria in Louisiana.

A rare winter storm has turned the South into an unlikely winter wonderland this week, giving cities like New Orleans more snow in a day than Salt Lake City has received all season.

A winter storm that is expected to begin in Texas next week could end up bringing snow and ice to parts of Florida, but the forecast is far from a lock.

New Orleans went from almost 70 degrees to a record snowstorm within four days. In a few months, hurricane season will start, bringing a new trend of rapidly intensifying storms. Why it matters: The weather whiplash,