GULFPORT, Miss. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – People living on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are experiencing sights we know all too well in Central Kentucky. The entire region is blanketed with snow, after a rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast. The storm prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snow plows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle. Heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain are expected around the Deep South as a blast of Arctic air plunges much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze. Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, with about 10,000 others delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. In Texas, both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday in expectation of hazardous conditions. Nearly every flight was cancelled at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, though officials said the airport itself would remain open “as long as the conditions are safe.” Most airlines plan to resume normal operations Wednesday. The video posted here is from ABC 36 sister station WXXV in Gulfport, where reporter Mario Bitonel described the unusual weather event. Categories: Featured, National News, News Tags: blizzard, Cold, Gulf Coast, Louisiana, Mississippi, national news, snow, Texas, weather news