Some areas of New Orleans and Houston got more than four inches of snow Tuesday morning in a historic winter storm hitting the south.

A rare, historic snowfall blanketed parts of the southern U.S. on Tuesday, allowing residents to play in the rather unusual weather. Families went snow tubing in Houston. People made snowballs and snow angels. People were even seen skiing on Bourbon Street.

A rare winter storm churned across the U.S. Gulf Coast on Tuesday, breaking snowfall records more than a century old in a southern region where flurries are unusual, as much of the United States remained in a dangerous deep freeze.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire urged Houston residents to not get complacent now that the snow has stopped falling "Hear me!" Whitmire beckoned at a Tuesday press conference. "We're halfway there. The next 24 hours will be the most dangerous.

City and county officials encouraged people to stay off of the major roadways Wednesday, when the Houston region emerged from a rare winter storm.

Houston's two airports reopened after being closed for 24 hours because of the winter storm. Now, airline passengers are trying to get things back on track.

Houston received between 1 to 4 inches of snow during a winter storm Tuesday morning, bringing wintry weather to a city that rarely sees it.