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.

The first touches of Winter Storm Enzo arrived in Southeast Texas on Monday night as sleet began to fall in the Houston area . Residents from Waller County to Spring and Porter, Texas recorded sleet, wintry precipitation and flurries of now as the sun set and night swept over the region.

Around 40 million people in the U.S. are under a winter storm warning from an unusual blast of severe winter weather.

So many of you have never seen an event like this,” Louisiana’s state climatologist warned, with New Orleans facing possibly the most snow it has ever seen.

Winter Storm Enzo is pounding Southeast Texas with snow and ice, and conditions on Houston roads are deteriorating rapidly.

Storm Enzo is spreading a rare bout of snow and ice along the Gulf and Southeast coasts, snarling travel and resulting in potentially historic snowfall totals for some locations. Enzo is producing snow and ice from central and southeast Texas into parts of Louisiana,

Snow and sleet started falling in Texas as officials begin to close schools and airports. Snow and ice could bring major travel disruptions and power outages from Texas to Florida.

Storm Enzo is doing as predicted: dumping heavy snow on Southeast Texas in the early morning hours on Tuesday. Residents from College Station to the Houston metropolitan area recorded sustained snowfalls across the region.

Winter storm Enzo is expected to bring severe travel disruptions and unusually cold weather to the far southeast on Monday and Tuesday.

Snow and ice will spread through the South early this week, including near the Gulf Coast where wintry weather is rare.