Anytime we get an Arctic air blast down this far south, this is an artifact of the polar vortex rearing its ugly head,” said climatologist Barry Keim .

A once-in-a-generation snowstorm, tied to the polar vortex event across the Lower 48 states, was plastering the Gulf Coast with record-setting snow and ice on Tuesday.Why it matters: This region isn't equipped to cope with heavy snow,

The cold temperatures are coming from a not uncommon expansion in the Polar Vortex, which are counter-clockwise rotating air currents that typically hang over the Arctic.

Here's the latest on the winter storm. A historic winter storm is poised to produce potentially record-breaking snows from coastal Texas to northern Florida late Monday into Tuesday. The event comes as an Arctic blast affects more than half the U.

Abnormal weather events and severe winter storms could be caused by a disrupted polar vortex. Find out here how the polar vortex affects the weather.

The first-ever blizzard warnings were issued near the Texas-Louisiana border Tuesday as Winter Storm Enzo blew through, bringing an estimated five inches of snow to areas in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas.

The temperature is predicted to be around 22 degrees during the swearing-in, the coldest since Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration.

These conditions are all thanks to a familiar sounding occurrence: the polar vortex, a large area of low pressure ... The morning low temperatures may drop below freezing as far south as Houston, New Orleans and Tallahassee, Fla., on Monday and Tuesday ...

A rare winter storm has turned the South into an unlikely winter wonderland this week, giving cities like New Orleans more snow in a day than Salt Lake City has received all season.

A winter storm that is expected to begin in Texas next week could end up bringing snow and ice to parts of Florida, but the forecast is far from a lock.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico did not cause the record-setting snowfall, but the conditions may have been an ingredient to the unusual weather.