Parts of the Florida Panhandle were coated in a blanket of snow with temperatures at 25 degrees on Tuesday while Miami had temperatures in the 80s, seemingly two different worlds. From Pensacola down to Miami, there was a difference of 55 degrees, according to the National Weather Service Miami .

Snow fell in Houston and prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border. Snow covered the white-sand beaches of normally sunny vacation spots, including Gulf Shores, Alabama, and Pensacola Beach.

The heaviest snowfall in the Sunshine State occurred around Pensacola, where spotters reported measuring amounts of 5 to 12 inches through Tuesday evening. Due to the hazardous weather and a series of crashes, a nearly 70-mile stretch of Interstate 10 was shut down by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Tuesday and Wednesday delivered a winter wonderland for some and delayed travel plans for others as an unusual layer of snow and ice coated North Florida. Preliminary storm data from the National Weather Service show as much as six inches of snow in Bonifay in Holmes County and in Fountain and Cedar Grove in Bay

Climatologically, it is not supposed to snow in South Florida. The laid-back tropics are a region constantly gaining energy from the sun, and with Florida's temperatures moderated by warm water on three sides, snow is unusual even in the northern reaches of the state.

As the historic winter storm that traveled across the southern U.S. heads east, it's leaving snowfall from Texas to North Carolina. This image was captured by a NOAA satellite showing several inches of snow left on the ground.

A strong winter storm blasting through the United States, including the Gulf Coast, is bringing the rare sight of snow and ice to northern Florida, and frigid rain to Tampa Bay.

The heaviest snowfall in the Sunshine State occurred around Pensacola, where spotters reported measuring amounts of 5-12 inches through Tuesday evening.

Not only did Florida get record snowfall, but it was colder in Pensacola this morning than it was in Anchorage, Alaska.

While the snow may be over, the cold isn't, and that brings another hazard to Florida motorists not used to driving in snow and ice.

The National Weather Service placed northwest Florida under a winter storm warning until 6 a.m. Wednesday, reporting that snow accumulations would total between 2 and 4 inches, with up to 6 inches of snow possible in southern portions of the warning area. An extreme cold warning is also in effect for the area.