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.

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 .

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.

A weakened jet stream within the polar vortex allows frigid air from the Artic to move further south than usual. Presley Bo Tyler is a reporter for the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team.

The LDH reported one winter weather-related death in the state this year—a 65-year-old man in Rapides Parish who died due to hypothermia—and advised people to stay inside during the extreme cold and to seek shelter if unhoused.

Louisiana isn’t known for extreme cold weather—but that changed Tuesday, when the National Weather Service issued its first-ever blizzard warning for much of the state.

The United States is currently experiencing an intense cold front linked to the so-called Arctic “polar vortex”. The icy air that has particularly affected the central and eastern United States is now descending as far as the Gulf Coast.

Historic winter storm shatters records across the South, leaving millions grappling with extreme cold and unprecedented snowfall into the weekend.

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.

A mass of air called the polar vortex has escaped the Arctic and plunged southward. Some scientists see the fingerprints of climate change.

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.

Several Gulf states experienced a major snowstorm this week. Changes in global climate patterns can be connected to weird weather events.