Louisiana isnt known for extreme cold weatherbut that changed Tuesday, when the National Weather Service issued its first-ever blizzard warning for much of the state.The potentially record-breaking storm (named Enzo by the Weather Channel) brought snow, sleet, freezing rain, and blizzard warnings from central and eastern Texas to parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Most of these areas arent historically prone to snowstorms, but as a result of recent climate instability, the polar vortex has been disrupted, causing the extreme weather.These severe cold events occur when the polar jet streamthe familiar jet stream during winter that runs along the boundary between Arctic and more temperate airdips deeply southward, bringing the cold Arctic air to regions that dont often experience it.This means that much of the country is experiencing an extreme shift in temperatures, going from well above the seasonal average to well below.Though Louisianas blizzard warning ended at noon Tuesday, the National Weather Service placed the state under a winter storm warning until late Tuesday afternoon. A cold weather advisory took effect Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.The last time it snowed in Lake Charles, Louisiana, was on December 8, 2017, when the city got 2 inches of snow. By early afternoon, the NWS reported the highest snowfall recorded so far was 10.5 inches in Rayne, Louisiana.Lousianas Iberville Parish and Pointe Coupee Parish enacted curfews because of the extremely cold temperatures and snowfall. The curfews, which will run from early Tuesday evening until Wednesday morning, were put in place to allow first responders to focus on emergency calls with limited interruption. Residents were asked to shelter in place and stay off of roadways to keep them open for emergency personnel. AccuWeather meteorologists warned that the storm could shut down travel for days across the Southeast, and parts of the region could lose power for an extended period.The New Orleans airport, which reported 3 inches of snow in just two hours, canceled all flights on Tuesday due to freezing temperatures and snowfall.Its the first time in 15 years the city has seen snow. Louisiana declared a state of emergency, as did Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi, with schools and businesses shut down as a result of the storm.Ever since Texass grid failure in 2021 and Austins outage in 2023, energy problems have been top of mind for many Texans. With freezing weather once again coming to the state, there were more concerns for the regions grid, as more people crank up their heat.The Electric Reliability Council of Texas isnt currently declaring an energy emergency or enacting rolling blackouts, but it has issued a weather watch from Monday until Thursday in preparation for the freezing temperatures.