Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency ahead of this week's hazardous winter weather that could bring snow to the Florida Panhandle.

An historic January storm dumped more deep snow along the U.S. Gulf Coast on Wednesday after bringing Houston and New Orleans to a near standstill over the past two days and burying parts of Florida's Panhandle with accumulations more typical of Chicago.

Florida residents who had a rare snow day were seen in photos and videos making snowmen and having snowball fights. Meteorologists say the snow may stick around until Wednesday, but won't reach Tampa.

A powerful and rare winter storm swept across the South on Tuesday, bringing the first-ever Blizzard Warning to the Gulf Coast and blasting communities from Texas to Florida to the Carolinas with record-shattering snow that snarled travel and brought daily life to a halt.

According to The National Centers for Environmental Information, the previous Florida record for the most snow in 24 hours was set in Milton, Santa Rosa County, on March 6, 1954, when four inches was recorded.

Pensacola has broken a 130-year-old record for total snowfall with 5 inches of snow officially reported by 5:30 p.m.