A major winter storm that slammed Texas and blanketed the northern Gulf Coast with record-breaking snow moved east overnight, spreading heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain across parts of the Florida Panhandle,

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.

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.