The storm prompted the first-ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snowplows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle.

The South is bracing for a major winter storm, most of the nation remains gripped by extreme cold, and high winds could fan flames in California.

A snowstorm warning was in effect for 31 million people - from southern Texas east through Georgia and north to the Carolinas and into Virginia - until Wednesday morning, the National Weather Service said.