Sam Grace, 31, beamed with excitement as his neighborhood outside Baton Rouge, Louisiana, became blanketed in a rare heavy layer of snow on Jan. 21.

The New Orleans native found himself caught in an arctic blast that brought several inches of accumulating snow to the streets of towns across the Deep South and Gulf Coast, including The Big Easy; Houston; Gulfport, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida.

“I’m loving it,” he told The Epoch Times.

Baton Rouge and New Orleans had received snow before, but Grace said he’d never experienced a snowfall like this.

He and his friends were joking about what the storm’s name should be and came up with names such as “Laissez-Freeze,” “Bourbon Street Blizzard,” and “Carnival Blizzard,” in homage to Mardi Gras celebrations, which are already underway.

A winter storm warning from the National Weather Service (NWS) said areas of southern Louisiana and Mississippi were expected to receive moderate to heavy snowfall on Jan. 21, with an accumulation of up to seven inches, along with an accumulation of ice.

“The last time we saw snow of this magnitude was way back in 1960, and prior to that, the previous snowfall record that even stands to this day was way back in 1895,” said meteorologist Donald Jones. “By modern standards, this is going to be a historic and very memorable storm.”

New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport canceled 89 percent of its departing flights and 90 percent of its arriving flights, according to aviation data company FlightAware.

To the west, NWS warned Houston residents of snow, sleet, and freezing rain, as well as dangerously cold wind chills as low as 10 degrees.

Both of Houston’s airports, George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby, canceled 93 percent and 94 percent of their departing flights, as well as 89 percent and 93 percent of their arriving flights, respectively.

Further east, NWS reported parts of Alabama, eastern Mississippi, and Florida could see total snow accumulations of up to three inches, with possible local amounts of up to four inches.

This marks the second winter storm to hit the southern U.S. this year, but snowfall and icy conditions were mostly kept to the northern, more inland parts of the states, affecting cities such as Dallas and Atlanta.

Now, frigid weather has reached further, down into Florida and communities along the Gulf of Mexico—which Present Donald Trump directed to be renamed the Gulf of America in a Jan. 20 executive order—causing the governors of the Sunshine State, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to all declare a state of emergency beforehand.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has instructed the state’s Department of Transportation to begin preparing the roads for the incoming weather, gathering snowplows and conducting anti-icing sprays of bridges and overpasses on I-10 and other roads across northern Florida.

“Believe it or not, in the state of Florida, we’re mobilizing snowplows,” he said.

Tallahassee last saw snow in 2018, according to the NWS, but its record of 2.8 inches of snow has stood since 1958.

The cold weather has had an impact on the upcoming special congressional election to replace former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida’s first district.

Tappie Villane, Santa Rosa County supervisor of elections, announced that all early voting sites would be closed on Jan. 21 and Jan. 22 due to the winter weather.

To compensate for time lost, early voting hours have been extended for the remaining days, lasting from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Jan. 23 through Jan. 25.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.