Marie Oliver

Jan 21, 2025 | nytimes.com | Katy Reckdahl |Alex Stuckey |Marie Oliver |Rick Rojas

In the Ninth Ward of New Orleans on Tuesday, levees built to hold the Mississippi River at bay suddenly provided the perfect slope for sledding. And in a place unaccustomed to such activity, pieces of cardboard, storage container covers and a hard plastic lid cut from a rolling trash bin became vehicles for sliding through the snow. Owen Reilly, 9, was using a metal cookie sheet. "It seemed like it was scientifically impossible for it to snow here," Owen said, brushing white flakes from his hands.

Jan 21, 2025 | nytimes.com | Katy Reckdahl |Alex Stuckey |Marie Oliver |Rick Rojas

A potentially record-breaking winter storm was bringing snow, sleet, freezing rain and blizzard warnings to parts of the southeastern United States where even light flurries are a rare sight, and residents are ill-prepared for a hard freeze. Houston woke Tuesday to a blanket of snow - something not seen in years - and its two airports canceled all flights.