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Warnings persist after historic winter storm leaves at least 11 dead in the South

Temperatures remain low, with transportation disrupted and dangerous due to ice, conditions expected to persist until at least Friday. Authorities have urged the public to exercise extreme caution. 

Tormenta invernal en la Interestatal 110 en Florida

Winter storm on Interstate 110 in Florida.APN/Cordon Press.

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The Arctic air that brought snow and ice from Florida to Texas will linger in the Southeast through Thursday. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), temperatures will only "slowly" return to normal beginning Friday and into the weekend.

Record low temperatures are expected again Thursday night in several areas, mirroring Wednesday's extreme cold. New Orleans Lakefront recorded a frigid 26 degrees Fahrenheit, breaking its all-time low of 32 degrees set in 1940. Gulfport, Mississippi, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also shattered their respective records from 40 years ago by more than 10 degrees.

The winter storm also shattered snowfall records. Pensacola, Florida, broke its 70-year snowfall record, while the state record was surpassed in Milton. The City of Pensacola is now under a state of alarm, along with the rest of Florida, following a declaration by Governor Ron DeSantis.

Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi are among the other states that have declared a state of emergency. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry warned residents on Thursday, "Tomorrow will look different as the winter wonderland ends and the freeze begins. Stay safe, Louisiana!"

Although the snowfall has mostly ended, conditions remain hazardous due to the lingering cold and ice.

So far, 11 deaths have been attributed to the winter storm. Nine of these occurred in Texas, with causes ranging from hypothermia to highway accidents, while Georgia reported one fatality.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell urged the community to "Please stay off the roads as we continue working diligently to clear icy intersections and highways for emergency transit." Her office assured residents that efforts to recover from the "unprecedented" event would continue, with snowplows and other emergency equipment focusing on clearing bridges and roads and maintaining essential services.

New Orleans broke its record for snowfall in a single day. The NWS observation station at Louis Armstrong International Airport, which faced cancellations and suspensions, recorded a historic eight inches of snow. "This breaks, by a long shot, the previous record of 2.7 inches set on December 31st, 1963," the federal agency reported.

Snow-covered beaches

Since it began on Tuesday, the winter storm has left unprecedented scenes. People from areas more accustomed to hurricanes than snowfall took to social media to share images of beaches covered in white, kayaks gliding through the snow, and other surprising sights.

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