US: Deep freeze affects Florida, Louisiana

Snow, sleet, and Arctic winds have caused an unexpected deep freeze in the United States' Deep South, leading to closures of airports, highways, schools, and government offices across the typically warm southern states, News.az reports citing foreign media.

Having covered Texas and the northern Gulf Coast with record-breaking snow, the major winter storm moved eastwards on Wednesday, causing governors in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even Florida - famously dubbed the Sunshine State - to declare states of emergency.

At least three people have died due to the extreme weather, including two in Austin, Texas, and another person in Georgia.

After being closed or suspending flights on Tuesday, Jacksonville Airport in Florida, Louis Armstrong Airport in New Orleans and both airports in Houston, Texas, were planning to reopen in the course of Wednesday.

But more than 1,300 flights to, from or within the US were canceled on Wednesday morning and more than 900 were delayed.

The airport in Charleston, South Carolina, was also closed, as was the massive 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) Ravenel Bridge that carries about 100,000 vehicles a day between Charleston and areas up the coast.

News.Az