The rare winter storm that is hitting the southern portion of the United States became historic Tuesday morning when the Lake Charles National Weather Service office issued its first-ever blizzard warning.

Isolated tornadoes, hail and damaging wind gusts are possible across Southwest Louisiana on Thursday as a cold front moves into the area. National Weather Service Lake Charles said a few storms could produce heavy rainfall resulting in localized flooding.

The mayor brought with him words of support for FEMA, an agency President Donald Trump talked about shutting down and recently issued orders for a commission to investigate.

All data from the National Weather Service is considered preliminary until it is reviewed further, and that was the case with the previous measurement of 4.8 inches.

Though NWS forecasters are still collecting official snowfall counts, these reports give a good look at just how much snow Louisiana saw.

A National Weather Service office in Louisiana issued its first-ever blizzard warning on Tuesday amid snow and strong winds.

Areas of Southwest Louisiana broke all-time record lows overnight Tuesday that dated back to the late 1800s. “It was quite the historic event for us,” said National Weather Service Lake Charles Storm Warning Meteorologist Doug Cramer.

New Iberia and Lafayette saw the coldest temperatures on record Wednesday morning. Lake Charles saw the coldest temperatures ever recorded in January.

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.

A "Freeze Warning" is in effect across southern Arkansas, northern Louisiana, Oklahoma and eastern Texas, as well as in small parts of Arizona, California and Florida, with temperatures falling as low as 27, and wind chills expected to feel as cold as low as 13 in some areas.

Showers and storms look likely by the late afternoon Thursday. The chances of severe weather are low but not zero.

Representatives with CenterPoint Entergy say the natural gas smell on Monday was due in part to the release of an odorant to help with leak detection.