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 accustomed to hurricane dismissals than snow days.

Critical fire weather with wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 kph) was also forecast for Southern California communities stretching to San Diego, with residents urged to take steps to get ready to evacuate such as creating an emergency kit and keeping cars filled with at least a half tank of gas.

The wildfires in Southern California have led to the evacuations of over 130,000 people and have destroyed over 10,000 structures. Overlaying the wildfire outbreak across other major U.S. cities shows that the blaze is one of the worst in United States history, as it continues to spread across residential areas in Los Angeles.

HOUSTON – In a pledge to help those affected by the rampant wildfires in Southern California, the Texans are pledging $1 million in donations to those ongoing relief efforts. The Texans were joined by the NFL, the Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Viking as part of a $5 million commitment from the league to help those impacted..

You can drop donations off at Daikin Park, formerly Minute Maid Park, in stadium lot B between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.

As President Donald Trump prepares to tour wildfire damage in California, he's zeroing in on one of his frequent targets for criticism: State water policy.

HOUSTON – The Houston Texans have pledged $1 million in support of southern California wildfire relief efforts.

Houston Fire Department wildland firefighters who are deployed in Southern California held a brief online call to discuss their experiences fighting the fires in the area. HFD Senior Capt. A.J. Castillo was joined by engineer operators Jonathan Williams,

Southern California is battling worsening wildfire conditions as Santa Ana winds are forecast to reach speeds up to 100 mph this week.

As the battle to fight the wildfires in Southern California continues, we are getting a clear picture of what has been left behind. Cotton GDS in Conway, is joining parent company Cotton Holdings, Inc.

More than 220 million people across the United States are facing dangerous cold that will also open the door for a potentially historic and crippling winter storm that could deliver snow as far south as Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

Firefighters are battling a new brush fire that erupted in San Diego County near the U.S.-Mexico border, as they also race to contain the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake.