Just over 8 inches of snow fell in New Orleans between Valentine's Day and Feb. 15, 1895, a record that remains unchallenged to this day, according to National Weather Service. Other cities in Louisiana saw even more snow, with 12.5 inches recorded in Baton Rouge, 14 inches in Lafayette and a whopping 22 inches of snow recorded in Lake Charles.

A snowstorm warning was in effect for 31 million people - from southern Texas east through Georgia and north to the Carolinas and into Virginia - until Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said.

A rare winter storm churned across the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, breaking snowfall records more than a century old in a southern region where flurries are unusual, as much of the United States remained in a dangerous deep freeze.