When will it end? A blast of Arctic air continued to batter much of the United States on Tuesday, testing the South and even the hardiest of Northeasterners. A rare winter storm made its way across the Gulf Coast on Tuesday, prompting blizzard warnings for the first time in parts of Texas and Louisiana. Snow could last for days from Houston to Tallahassee, Fla., because of a major piece of equipment is largely missing in the region: snow plows. The brutal cold — with temperatures plunging far below normal for January and bringing potentially dangerous conditions when combined with wind — will continue to plague much of the country over the next week. The bleak forecast forced many indoors. For others, the dogs still had to be walked. Here are scenes from across a country bracing itself against the cold.
