North Florida residents from Pensacola to Jacksonville are bracing for what is expected to be a historic, once-in-a-lifetime winter storm.

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 US into a deep freeze.

A rare winter storm across North Florida is causing historic snow in Pensacola and the Panhandle. See striking images of how residents reacted.