'Don't worry; we will thaw': When will the South feel like the South again?

A rare and widespread winter storm that covered Southern states with record-breaking amounts of snow has the region wondering: When will the South start to feel like the South again?

Nearly 3 million people in the South were under extreme cold warnings on Wednesday and millions more were under cold weather advisories as an outbreak of arctic air grips much of the country. The notices blanketed parts of eastern Texas, Louisiana and even Florida. Freeze warnings also covered parts of Florida and Georgia.

New Orleans International Airport saw 8 inches of snow, smashing a record over 60 years old of one-third that much snow. The Pensacola area of Florida broke a 130-year-old record for snowfall with 7.6 inches in Pensacola and nearly 10 inches in Milton. Parts of Mississippi were hit with nearly a foot of snow. The wintry assault started Tuesday in Texas before spreading across the Southeast, causing several deaths.

Areas not used to this kind of weather are struggling to get back up and running. A shortage of snowplows means roads may remain dangerous in some areas as an accumulation of snow lingers on the ground.

"Road conditions remain a mess and any spots where roads were heavily trafficked earlier have likely turned into temporary ice skating rinks," the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama said.

Here's what the South should expect in the coming days:

'This is a first': As rare winter storm exits the South, major issues remain

What's next for the wintry weather in the South?

The wintry mix of precipitation including snow, sleet and freezing rain has wrapped up in almost all of the Southeast region, National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira told USA TODAY on Wednesday.

Still, the impacts from the storm could be felt for several more days, especially since many areas don't have equipment like plows to quickly clear roads. In places with fewer resources, people just "gotta wait for nature to take its course" and melt the snow, Pereira said. That could take a couple days, forecasters in Mobile said, while the weather service in New Orleans warned drivers to stay off the roads if they can.

A "slow recovery" with temperatures rising a few degrees is expected on Thursday, according to the weather service. Pereira said over the next couple days, snow melting during daytime highs that get into the upper 30s or 40s could refreeze with overnight lows below 32 degrees. That could make for icy conditions and dreaded black ice on roads.

"Any power outages across the Gulf Coast and Southeast due to the winter storm will exacerbate the threat from the cold for these areas," the weather service said.

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When will things get back to normal?

Temperatures will remain colder than usual across the South through Saturday. Daytime highs will be 5 to 15 degrees below the average and overnight lows will drop below freezing, the weather service said.

So when will things get back to normal?

"Don't worry," the weather service in Mobile, Alabama, said, "we will eventually thaw."

Temperatures will start gradually returning to their averages for this time of year late this weekend and early next week, Pereira said. The warmup will move west to east. Texas will experience its last night of below freezing temperatures overnight Friday into Saturday, and there will be a "significant" warmup on Sunday in Texas and Louisiana. Warmer temperatures should make their way to Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas a day later, he said.

In Charleston, for example, Saturday night into Sunday morning's low will be about 29 degrees, but the next night it will rise to about 37. After that, daytime highs will return to the 50s with lows in the upper 30s.

After this weekend, daytime highs will pretty much be back to normal, Pereira said.

"By the time we get to the early part of next week, we're looking at temperatures we can expect this time of year across the Gulf Coast of Florida, 60s or 70s in a lot of areas," Pereira said.

Contributing: Dinah Pulver, John Bacon, USA TODAY; Jim Little, Pensacola News Journal

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Winter storm across the South: When will things get back to normal?