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A Mississippi town moves a Confederate monument that became a shrouded eyesore

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A Mississippi town moves a Confederate monument that became a shrouded eyesore
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A Mississippi town moves a Confederate monument that became a shrouded eyesore

2024-09-19 00:29 Last Updated At:00:31

GRENADA, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi town has taken down a Confederate monument that stood on the courthouse square since 1910 — a figure that was tightly wrapped in tarps the past four years, symbolizing the community's enduring division over how to commemorate the past.

Grenada’s first Black mayor in two decades seems determined to follow through on the city’s plans to relocate the monument to other public land. A concrete slab has already been poured behind a fire station about 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) from the square.

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FILE -Rep. Stacey Hobgood Wilkes, R-Picayune, asks a question from the flood of the House Chamber, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

FILE -Rep. Stacey Hobgood Wilkes, R-Picayune, asks a question from the flood of the House Chamber, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Charles Latham stands among the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham stands among the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate Cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate Cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

This photo shows a site behind a fire station on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Grenada, Miss., where a Confederate monument is to be relocated after it was removed from the courthouse square downtown. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

This photo shows a site behind a fire station on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Grenada, Miss., where a Confederate monument is to be relocated after it was removed from the courthouse square downtown. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

Lori Chavis, a city council member in Grenada, Miss., speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, about a plan to move a Confederate monument from a prominent spot in downtown to a secluded area behind a fire station. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

Lori Chavis, a city council member in Grenada, Miss., speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, about a plan to move a Confederate monument from a prominent spot in downtown to a secluded area behind a fire station. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

A base that had held a Confederate monument in downtown Grenada, Miss., since 1910, stands empty after a crew removed the monument, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.( AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

A base that had held a Confederate monument in downtown Grenada, Miss., since 1910, stands empty after a crew removed the monument, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.( AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

A century-old Confederate memorial statue is outlined underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A century-old Confederate memorial statue is outlined underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Small sections of the century-old Confederate memorial marble statue are seen underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Small sections of the century-old Confederate memorial marble statue are seen underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A weather-worn tarp covers the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A weather-worn tarp covers the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham speaks about the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham speaks about the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

FILE - Robert Green, a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks from the Confederate Memorial statue in the Grenada town square in Mississippi, June 14, 1966, after planting an American Flag above the bas relief of Confererate President Jefferson Davis. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Robert Green, a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks from the Confederate Memorial statue in the Grenada town square in Mississippi, June 14, 1966, after planting an American Flag above the bas relief of Confererate President Jefferson Davis. (AP Photo, File)

Charles Latham speaks near a century-old Confederate memorial statue in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham speaks near a century-old Confederate memorial statue in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Pieces of a Confederate monument are secured onto a flatbed truck Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, after a crew removed them from the spot where the monument had stood since 1910, in downtown Grenada, Miss. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

Pieces of a Confederate monument are secured onto a flatbed truck Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, after a crew removed them from the spot where the monument had stood since 1910, in downtown Grenada, Miss. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

But a new fight might be developing. A Republican lawmaker from another part of Mississippi wrote to Grenada officials saying she believes the city is violating a state law that restricts the relocation of war memorials or monuments.

The Grenada City Council voted to move the monument in 2020, weeks after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. The vote seemed timely: Mississippi legislators had just retired the last state flag in the U.S. that prominently featured the Confederate battle emblem.

The tarps went up soon after the vote, shrouding the Confederate soldier and the pedestal he stood on. But even as people complained about the eyesore, the move was delayed by tight budgets, state bureaucracy or political foot-dragging. Explanations vary, depending on who’s asked.

A new mayor and city council took office in May, prepared to take action. On Sept. 11, with little advance notice, police blocked traffic and a work crew disassembled and removed the 20-foot (6.1-meter) stone structure.

“I'm glad to see it move to a different location,” said Robin Whitfield, an artist with a studio just off Grenada's historic square. “This represents that something has changed."

Still, Whitfield, who is white, said she wishes Grenada leaders had invited the community to engage in dialogue about the symbol, to bridge the gap between those who think moving it is erasing history and those who see it as a daily reminder of white supremacy. She was among the few people watching as a crane lifted parts of the monument onto a flatbed truck.

“No one ever talked about it, other than yelling on Facebook,” Whitfield said.

Mayor Charles Latham said the monument has been “quite a divisive figure” in the town of 12,300, where about 57% of residents are Black and 40% are white.

“I understand people had family and stuff to fight and die in that war, and they should be proud of their family,” Latham said. “But you’ve got to understand that there were those who were oppressed by this, by the Confederate flag on there. There’s been a lot of hate and violence perpetrated against people of color, under the color of that flag.”

The city received permission from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to move the Confederate monument, as required. But Rep. Stacey Hobgood-Wilkes of Picayune said the fire station site is inappropriate.

“We are prepared to pursue such avenues that may be necessary to ensure that the statue is relocated to a more suitable and appropriate location,” she wrote, suggesting a Confederate cemetery closer to the courthouse square as an alternative. She said the Ladies Cemetery Association is willing to deed a parcel to the city to make it happen.

The Confederate monument in Grenada is one of hundreds in the South, most of which were dedicated during the early 20th century when groups such as the United Daughters of the Confederacy sought to shape the historical narrative by valorizing the Lost Cause mythology of the Civil War.

The monuments, many of them outside courthouses, came under fresh scrutiny after an avowed white supremacist who had posed with Confederate flags in photos posted online killed nine Black people inside the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

Grenada's monument includes images of Confederate president Jefferson Davis and a Confederate battle flag. It was engraved with praise for “the noble men who marched neath the flag of the Stars and Bars” and “the noble women of the South," who “gave their loved ones to our country to conquer or to die for truth and right.”

A half-century after it was dedicated, the monument's symbolism figured in a voting rights march. When the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders held a mass rally in downtown Grenada in June 1966, Robert Green of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference scrambled up the pedestal and planted a U.S. flag above the image of Davis.

The cemetery is a spot Latham himself had previously advocated as a new site for the monument, but he said it's too late to change now, after the city already budgeted $60,000 for the move.

“So, who's going to pay the city back for the $30,000 we've already expended to relocate this?” he said. “You should've showed up a year and a half ago, two years ago, before the city gets to this point.”

A few other Confederate monuments in Mississippi have been relocated. In July 2020, a Confederate soldier statue was moved from a prominent spot at the University of Mississippi to a Civil War cemetery in a secluded part of the Oxford campus. In May 2021, a Confederate monument featuring three soldiers was moved from outside the Lowndes County Courthouse in Columbus to another cemetery with Confederate soldiers.

Lori Chavis, a Grenada City Council member, said that since the monument was covered by tarps, “it's caused nothing but more divide in our city.”

She said she supports relocating the monument but worries about a lawsuit. She acknowledged that people probably didn't know until recently exactly where it would reappear.

“It’s tucked back in the woods, and it’s not visible from even pulling behind the fire station,” Chavis said. “And I think that’s what got some of the citizens upset."

FILE -Rep. Stacey Hobgood Wilkes, R-Picayune, asks a question from the flood of the House Chamber, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

FILE -Rep. Stacey Hobgood Wilkes, R-Picayune, asks a question from the flood of the House Chamber, Thursday, March 7, 2019, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Charles Latham stands among the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham stands among the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate Cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

The sun sets on the grave markers in the Confederate Cemetery in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

This photo shows a site behind a fire station on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Grenada, Miss., where a Confederate monument is to be relocated after it was removed from the courthouse square downtown. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

This photo shows a site behind a fire station on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in Grenada, Miss., where a Confederate monument is to be relocated after it was removed from the courthouse square downtown. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

Lori Chavis, a city council member in Grenada, Miss., speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, about a plan to move a Confederate monument from a prominent spot in downtown to a secluded area behind a fire station. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

Lori Chavis, a city council member in Grenada, Miss., speaks Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, about a plan to move a Confederate monument from a prominent spot in downtown to a secluded area behind a fire station. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

A base that had held a Confederate monument in downtown Grenada, Miss., since 1910, stands empty after a crew removed the monument, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.( AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

A base that had held a Confederate monument in downtown Grenada, Miss., since 1910, stands empty after a crew removed the monument, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024.( AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

A century-old Confederate memorial statue is outlined underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A century-old Confederate memorial statue is outlined underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Small sections of the century-old Confederate memorial marble statue are seen underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Small sections of the century-old Confederate memorial marble statue are seen underneath the weather-worn tarp covering the monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A weather-worn tarp covers the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

A weather-worn tarp covers the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham speaks about the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham speaks about the century-old Confederate monument in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

FILE - Robert Green, a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks from the Confederate Memorial statue in the Grenada town square in Mississippi, June 14, 1966, after planting an American Flag above the bas relief of Confererate President Jefferson Davis. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Robert Green, a leader in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks from the Confederate Memorial statue in the Grenada town square in Mississippi, June 14, 1966, after planting an American Flag above the bas relief of Confererate President Jefferson Davis. (AP Photo, File)

Charles Latham speaks near a century-old Confederate memorial statue in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Charles Latham speaks near a century-old Confederate memorial statue in Grenada, Miss., April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Pieces of a Confederate monument are secured onto a flatbed truck Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, after a crew removed them from the spot where the monument had stood since 1910, in downtown Grenada, Miss. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

Pieces of a Confederate monument are secured onto a flatbed truck Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, after a crew removed them from the spot where the monument had stood since 1910, in downtown Grenada, Miss. (AP Photo/Emily Wagster Pettus)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A rare frigid storm charged through Texas and the northern Gulf Coast on Tuesday, blanketing New Orleans and Houston with snow that closed highways, grounded nearly all flights and canceled school for more than a million students more used to hurricane dismissals than snow days.

The storm prompted the first ever blizzard warnings for several coastal counties near the Texas-Louisiana border, and snow plows were at the ready in the Florida Panhandle. Snow covered the white-sand beaches of normally sunny vacation spots, including Gulf Shores, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida. The heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain hitting parts of the Deep South came as a blast of Arctic air plunged much of the Midwest and the eastern U.S. into a deep freeze.

Nearly 2,000 flights to, from or within the U.S. were canceled Tuesday, with about 10,000 others delayed, according to online tracker FlightAware.com. Both Houston airports suspended flight operations starting Tuesday.

Alvaro Perez was hunkering down at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday after his flight to El Salvador, to visit his girlfriend for her birthday, was canceled. His new departure is scheduled for Thursday.

“I’ll just ride it and stay here,” said Perez, of Hockley, Texas, about 35 miles (55 kilometers) away.

Nearly every flight was cancelled at New Orleans Louis Armstrong International Airport, though officials said the airport itself would remain open “as long as the conditions are safe.” Most airlines planned to resume operations Wednesday.

It has been more than a decade since snow last fell on New Orleans, where schools are closed through Thursday. Bundled-up onlookers checked out the strange sight of Bourbon Street in the snow, including a snowcapped memorial to those killed in the New Year’s Day truck attack.

With more than 5 inches (13 centimeters) of snow already in parts of the city Tuesday, New Orleans has surpassed its record — 2.7 inches (6.8 centimeters) on Dec. 31, 1963 — according to the National Weather Service. There have been unofficial reports of 10 inches (26 centimeters) of snow in New Orleans in 1895, NWS meteorologist Christopher Bannan said.

The East Coast was blanketed in snow while people from the Northern Plains to the tip of Maine shivered in bitter cold from an arctic air mass that plunged temperatures well below normal.

In New Orleans, 65-year-old Robert Hammock donned a beanie and rallied himself and his border collie Tillie for a snowy morning walk.

“She loves the snow,” Hammock said, as Tillie sprawled happily in the slush on the sidewalk. “I’m from south Alabama, so I hate the snow.”

Winter storm warnings Tuesday extended from Texas to North Carolina, with heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain expected to move eastward through the region into Wednesday. Meanwhile, a state of emergency was declared Monday night across at least a dozen counties in New York as heavy lake-effect snow was expected around Lake Ontario and Lake Erie through Wednesday — with 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) possible — along with extreme cold temperatures.

Ahead of the storm, governors in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even Florida — the Sunshine State — declared states of emergency and many school systems canceled classes Tuesday. School closures were planned in some coastal communities in North and South Carolina.

The NWS said up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) of snow fell in metro Houston. Texas transportation officials said more than 20 snow plows were in use across nearly 12,000 lane miles in the Houston area, which lacks its own city or county plows.

It’s the first time Houston has seen snow since a winter storm knocked out power to millions and killed more than 200 people across Texas in 2021, according to meteorologist Hayley Adams at the NWS in Houston.

Snow is rare in Texas' largest city. In February 1895, a two-day storm dropped a record 20 inches (50 centimeters) on metropolitan Houston.

Officials said one person has died from hypothermia in Georgia. Forecasters say snowfall could stretch from north Georgia, through Atlanta, and into southern portions unaccustomed to such weather.

Parts of the Florida Panhandle were coated white Tuesday. Tallahassee, Florida’s capital, last saw snow in 2018 — just 0.1 of an inch (0.25 centimeters), according to the weather service. Tallahassee's highest snowfall on record was 2.8 inches (7 centimeters) in 1958.

“Believe it or not, in the state of Florida we’re mobilizing snowplows,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Mobile, Alabama, hit 5.4 inches (13.7 centimeters) and counting Tuesday, topping the city’s one-day snowfall record of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters), set on Jan. 24, 1881, and nearing its all-time snowfall record of 6 inches (15.5 centimeters) in 1895, the weather service said.

The blizzard warning in effect until midday Tuesday was the first issued by the office in Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to meteorologist Donald Jones. Strong winds with heavy snow reduced visibility, and areas across the Gulf South that rarely see snow were expecting record-breaking snowfall, Jones said.

Louisiana transportation agency workers worked through the night to prepare bridges and roadways. Nonetheless, Louisiana State Police said they have already responded to more than 50 crashes Tuesday, and pleaded for people to stay home.

In Baton Rouge, where snowfall hit 6 inches (15 centimeters) by midday Tuesday, city officials and state police said the low visibility caused by the snow was making roads hazardous. It was the first snowfall in the capital city since 2018.

Frigid cold persisted across the eastern two-thirds of the country with multiple record lows possible through midweek, especially across the Gulf Coast and portions of the Southeast, the weather service said. Normal temperatures were only expected to return slowly by the end of the week.

Wind chills were expected to reach minus 30 to minus 50 degrees (minus 34 C to minus 46 C) at times across the Dakotas and into the Upper Midwest, posing an extreme risk of hypothermia and frostbite. Subzero wind chills were forecast from the Central Plains eastward through Wednesday night.

The NWS issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region.

This latest cold snap comes from a disruption in the polar vortex, the ring of cold air usually trapped at the North Pole.

In Southern California, where blazes have killed at least 27 people and burned thousands of homes, dry conditions and strong Santa Ana winds remained a concern.

Associated Press writers Sarah Brumfield in Cockeysville, Maryland; Jack Brook in New Orleans; Sara Cline in Key Largo, Florida; Julie Walker in New York; Dave Collins in Hartford, Connecticut; Bruce Shipkowski in Toms River, New Jersey; Corey Williams in Detroit; Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida; Nadia Lathan in Austin, Texas; Ben Finley in Norfolk, Virginia; Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina; Charlotte Kramon in Atlanta; Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina; and Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

People walk past the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture on Seawall Blvd. during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Harrison County Beaches flourished with snowstorm Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

Harrison County Beaches flourished with snowstorm Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

Ice is formed on the nose of the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Ice is formed on the nose of the 1900 Storm memorial sculpture during an icy winter storm on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Galveston, Texas. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Harrison County Beaches flourished with snowstorm Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

Harrison County Beaches flourished with snowstorm Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in Pass Christian, Miss. (Hunter Dawkins/The Gazebo Gazette via AP)

People walk by the empty Cafe Du Monde restaurant in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

People walk by the empty Cafe Du Monde restaurant in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kristyn Tramel walks her dog Bluey with her 8-year-old son Penn in the French Quarter as they stop at the memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kristyn Tramel walks her dog Bluey with her 8-year-old son Penn in the French Quarter as they stop at the memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person walks along snow covered Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person walks along snow covered Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Gilmar Hernandez, left, and Cesar Santos, who spent a night at the closed George Bush Intercontinental Airport, wait for the next flight out Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Gilmar Hernandez, left, and Cesar Santos, who spent a night at the closed George Bush Intercontinental Airport, wait for the next flight out Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

All cancelled flights are shown on the flight board at the closed George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

All cancelled flights are shown on the flight board at the closed George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

An empty terminal is seen at the closed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

An empty terminal is seen at the closed at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Braedon McCants hits Thomas Pickell with a snowball as they snowball fights at Rice University campus Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Braedon McCants hits Thomas Pickell with a snowball as they snowball fights at Rice University campus Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Snow falls as the memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in the French Quarter is seen in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Snow falls as the memorial for the victims of a deadly truck attack on New Year's Day in the French Quarter is seen in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person walks to Jackson Square as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person walks to Jackson Square as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

People take a walk in the neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

People take a walk in the neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A person stops to take a picture at Jackson Square as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A person stops to take a picture at Jackson Square as snow falls in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The Houston skyline is visible in the background as snow covers downtown streets Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP)

The Houston skyline is visible in the background as snow covers downtown streets Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Kirk Sides/Houston Chronicle via AP)

A person uses cross-country skis as he walks through a snow covered hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

A person uses cross-country skis as he walks through a snow covered hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Abbie Schuh and her 8-year-old daughter Louise Delisio get covered in snow as they sled down a hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Abbie Schuh and her 8-year-old daughter Louise Delisio get covered in snow as they sled down a hill at Herman Park Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Icicles hang down from a vehicle during an icy winter storm in Galveston, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Icicles hang down from a vehicle during an icy winter storm in Galveston, Texas, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via AP)

People take a walk in the neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

People take a walk in the neighborhood Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Abel Allen, in a Spider-Man suit, and Angel Tircuit walk on a snow covered bridge in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Abel Allen, in a Spider-Man suit, and Angel Tircuit walk on a snow covered bridge in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Cars travel on a snow covered highway Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Cars travel on a snow covered highway Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Lesley Martin and her 4-year-old daughter Layla Richardson walk on a snow covered street in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Lesley Martin and her 4-year-old daughter Layla Richardson walk on a snow covered street in New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Snow covers Canal Street in downtown New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Snow covers Canal Street in downtown New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A car is covered with snow Tuesday morning, Jan. 21, 2025, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A car is covered with snow Tuesday morning, Jan. 21, 2025, in Spring, Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A couple take a walk at sunrise near the icy Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago, as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

A couple take a walk at sunrise near the icy Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago, as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Harahan police respond to a building security alarm during a rare snowstorm in Harahan, La., a suburb of New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Harahan police respond to a building security alarm during a rare snowstorm in Harahan, La., a suburb of New Orleans, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A billboard advertises for a heating and air conditioning company Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in St. Joseph, Mich., as bitterly cold temperatures in the single digits are expected over the new few days throughout Michigan. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

A billboard advertises for a heating and air conditioning company Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in St. Joseph, Mich., as bitterly cold temperatures in the single digits are expected over the new few days throughout Michigan. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

Employee Ola Williams unwraps one of the last pallets of salt inside a Home Depot, as people prepare for a rare and historic snowstorm in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Employee Ola Williams unwraps one of the last pallets of salt inside a Home Depot, as people prepare for a rare and historic snowstorm in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A customer looks for pipe insulation where the shelves are now empty inside a Home Depot, as people prepare for a rare and historic snowstorm in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

A customer looks for pipe insulation where the shelves are now empty inside a Home Depot, as people prepare for a rare and historic snowstorm in Baton Rouge, La., Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Blowing and drifting snow batter ice fishing huts along the shipping canal near the Emma Jean Hull Flats Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

Blowing and drifting snow batter ice fishing huts along the shipping canal near the Emma Jean Hull Flats Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

Crews clear sidewalks from blowing and drifting snow Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at Harbor Village in Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

Crews clear sidewalks from blowing and drifting snow Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, at Harbor Village in Benton Harbor, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)

William Amaya sells firewood Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

William Amaya sells firewood Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Passengers wait to check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring several inches of snow and will close both of Houston's airports on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

Passengers wait to check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring several inches of snow and will close both of Houston's airports on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

Vehicles pass a sign displaying Winter storm related operations Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of predicted several inches of snow and possibly ice in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Vehicles pass a sign displaying Winter storm related operations Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of predicted several inches of snow and possibly ice in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip

Friends and family enjoy a fun morning tubing down the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Friends and family enjoy a fun morning tubing down the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

William Amaya sells firewood out of his pickup truck Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

William Amaya sells firewood out of his pickup truck Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm predicted to dump several inches of snow in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Snow is cleared as the first half ends of an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Snow is cleared as the first half ends of an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ice builds up along the shore of Lake Michigan before the sunrise Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits Monday and Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

Ice builds up along the shore of Lake Michigan before the sunrise Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits Monday and Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

A pedestrian crosses as a pickup truck equipped with a snow plow waits at the traffic signal after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A pedestrian crosses as a pickup truck equipped with a snow plow waits at the traffic signal after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Passengers check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that will close both of Houston's airports Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

Passengers check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that will close both of Houston's airports Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

Passengers wait to check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring several inches of snow and will close both of Houston's airports on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

Passengers wait to check-in for their flights at George Bush Intercontinental Airport Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of a winter storm that is expected to bring several inches of snow and will close both of Houston's airports on Tuesday. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip))

Kyle Foss holds his son Kasen as they slide behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School in Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with their family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Kyle Foss holds his son Kasen as they slide behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School in Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with their family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Vehicles pass a sign displaying Winter storm related operations Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of predicted several inches of snow and possibly ice in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Vehicles pass a sign displaying Winter storm related operations Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Houston, ahead of predicted several inches of snow and possibly ice in Southeast Texas. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A person stands on ice at Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan to take pictures before the sunrise Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago, as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits Monday and Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

A person stands on ice at Oak Street Beach along the shore of Lake Michigan to take pictures before the sunrise Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Chicago, as the weather service issued cold weather advisories across the Great Lakes region as high temperatures in many places were expected only to rise into the single digits Monday and Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)

A motorist clears snow from a utility vehicle after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A motorist clears snow from a utility vehicle after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Hailee Morin holds her child, Guide Monday morning as they zip down the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with their family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Hailee Morin holds her child, Guide Monday morning as they zip down the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with their family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

A cyclist navigates 13th Avenue after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

A cyclist navigates 13th Avenue after a winter storm plunged daytime high temperatures into the single digits and left up to six inches of snow in its wake Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Kristina Foss holds onto her daughter Kayleigh as they plow through snow at the bottom of the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

Kristina Foss holds onto her daughter Kayleigh as they plow through snow at the bottom of the hill behind Sherwood Heights Elementary School Auburn, Maine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, with family and friends. (Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal via AP)

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