Southern winter wonderland: See pictures of snow blanketing Florida, Texas and more Tuesday

As brutally cold temperatures continue to grip portions of the U.S., sizeable areas of the South are under ongoing blizzard warnings thanks to major winter storms battering the region.

In a locale much more accustomed to hurricane alerts, Tuesday’s snow warnings are an exceedingly rare sight. For a blizzard warning to be issued, anticipated conditions must include frequent wind gusts of 35 mph or greater and snow that reduces visibility to 1/4 mile or less for three hours or more, according to the National Weather Service.

“We are prepared for hurricanes, we have all the equipment we need, we know what we need,” Lafayette, Louisiana Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boule previously told USA TODAY on Tuesday. “This is going to be different. We don't necessarily have snow equipment to deal with what we have coming.”

An arctic mass sprawling across most of the United States is the main driver behind what is being called Winter Storm Enzo. Pictures from Texas, Florida, Mississippi, and more show snow blanketing normally coastal areas; see the pictures here.

Texas

Florida

Louisiana

Alabama

Mississippi

Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pictures: See as snow blankets regions of the South on Tuesday