A rare winter storm charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday has closed highways and airports and prompted the first blizzard warning for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

Officials in St. John the Baptist Parish announced a dusk-to-dawn curfew as a winter storm system continued to blanket the New Orleans region in snow. Residents are asked to stay of the roadways from 6 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday because of the hazardous conditions, according to the St. John Sheriff's Office.

A rare winter storm charging through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast has closed highways and airports and prompted the first blizzard warning for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.

A rare, historic snowfall blanketed parts of the southern U.S. on Tuesday, allowing residents to play in the rather unusual weather. Families went snow tubing in Houston. People made snowballs and snow angels. People were even seen skiing on Bourbon Street.

In 1865, record-breaking snowfall was measured in Audubon Park. New Orleans experienced the same amount during Tuesday's blizzard.

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

Areas along the gulf coast were slammed by a rare winter storm stretching from Texas to Florida. New Orleans received record-breaking snowfall that brought the city to a halt.

By noon, the National Weather Service had reported about 4 inches of snow in New Orleans. The storm prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snow plows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle, according to the Associated Press.

For example, Lake Charles, La., along the Gulf Coast, showed snowfall rates of over 1 inch per hour this morning and early afternoon and visibility down to a quarter of a mile with blowing snow. This is one of the reasons why blizzard warnings were posted briefly for that region earlier.