The town of Brownsville, near the Mexican border, reported 1.5 inchescentimeters) of snow, the first measurable amount since 1895, according to The Weather Channel.

The five inches (12.7 centimeters) that dropped on Corpus Christi topped the total accumulation in the Gulf of Mexico town over the past 72 years, while farther north, the town of Victoria was blanketed by 12 inchescentimeters) of snow, according to the network.

Other towns had not seen significant amounts of snow in more than 100 years, the cable channel reported.

"The South Texas storm is extremely unusual," a weather expert told the channel.

The network showed children sliding down snowy slopes in winter weather that was also expected to hit neighboring Louisiana before moving up to South Carolina.

The National Weather Service issued freeze warnings for all of southern Texas and a winter weather advisory for most of southern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi.

The weather service urged Texans to keep their pets indoors, as temperatures in the snow-covered areas were expected to drop below freezing.

Weather authorities said residents in parts of Louisiana should stay home and avoid travel until the weather improved later in the day.

"If you leave the safety of being indoors, you are putting your life at risk," the National Weather Service warned.

It also asked residents to use heating equipment cautiously, saying more people die from house fires during cold weather in some parts of the state than in tornadoes, lightning and flash floods.

Several Louisiana bridges closed down due to ice, while the state was expected to be hit by sleet mixed with snow and freezing rain.

The Weather Channel said parts of Louisiana were going to experience their first frozen precipitation in 50 years.

Midwestern US states were also covered in snow following Christmas Eve storms that snarled traffic and delayed deliveries of last-minute holiday gifts and cards.

Despite the delays, the United Parcel Service said it would not be delivering packages on Saturday and Sunday. Service was to resume on Monday.

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