A frigid storm drops rare snow on Houston and New Orleans as Florida readies plows in the Panhandle

A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow that closed highways, grounded nearly all flights and canceled school for more than a million students more accustomed to hurricane dismissals than snow days. The storm prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snowplows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle. Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, with about 10,000 others delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. Both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday. Nearly every flight was cancelled at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, but most airlines planned to resume operations Wednesday.<br/>