Rain falls from the warm layer onto a cold surface below becoming ice. Along the Gulf Coast and Southeast This region is usually doesn't get much snow, ice or freezing temperatures. Once in a while, though, cold air penetrates south across Texas and Florida, into the Gulf of Mexico. Temperatures fall below freezing, killing tender vegetation, such as flowering plants and the citrus fruit crop. Wet snow and ice accumulate on trees with leaves, causing the branches to snap under the load.
Motorists are unsure how to drive on slick roads and there can be a lot of traffic accidents.
Cities may not have snow removal equipment or treatments, such as sand or salt, for icy roads. In the Midwest and Plains Storms tend to develop over southeast Colorado. These storms move east or northeast and use both the southward plunge of cold air from Canada and the northward flow of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico to produce heavy snow and sometimes blizzard conditions. Other storms affecting the Midwest and Plains move southeast. Arctic air is drawn from the north and moves south across the Plains and Great Lakes.