For the latest updates on the snow, follow USA TODAY's coverage for Wednesday, Jan. 22. LAFAYETTE, La. − A wide swath of the South was targeted by a major winter storm Tuesday as brutally cold temperatures gripped much of the nation,

Millions of people across the northern Gulf Coast braced Tuesday for a rare winter storm that’s expected to scatter heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.

Snow was falling in New Orleans, where as much as 8 inches were expected to accumulate by the end of the day, threatening to tie a record set in 1895.