A major winter storm slammed the southern US Tuesday, blanketing parts of the Gulf Coast with record-breaking snowfall in a region largely unaccustomed to extreme winter weather.

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

Dangerous below-freezing temperatures with even colder wind chills were also expected to last over much of the week in the region. Authorities say three people have died in the cold weather.

A Florida man was arrested in Mississippi for drug trafficking, authorities said. According to the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, deputies stopped a

Daryl Dewayne Crowden, 54, of Jacksonville ... Lowndes Co. Sheriff’s Office) A Florida man was arrested in Mississippi for drug trafficking, authorities said. (Courtesy: Lowndes Co. Sheriff ...