STORY: A once in a century winter storm is churning its way across the U.S. Gulf Coast, where snow flurries are rare.

The National Weather Service said 31 million people were under a snowstorm warning on Tuesday – from southern Texas east through Georgia and north to the Carolinas and into Virginia.

The warning is in effect until Wednesday morning.

Temperatures dipped well below freezing, across the South.

With the storm moving east, snow-covered streets near downtown Houston were virtually deserted.

Those willing to brave the freezing temperatures were enjoying the unusual change of scenery, for now…

“Yeah, the snow is beautiful, look at this. It’s so soft and it’s stickier than I’d expect, so I think it’s great.”

“It’s actually really fun having it here because it’s kind of a throwback to my childhood and college days.”

The weather service said 9.8 inches of snow had accumulated by late afternoon on Tuesday in New Orleans.

The service was trying to confirm whether this broke an 8 inch record set in 1895.

The storm snarled air travel with more than 1,000 flights departing or bound for Houston canceled, according to Flightaware.com.

The storm was crawling its way through Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida late Monday.

Much of the United States remains in a dangerous deep freeze.