Temps have already plummeted across Southeast Texas, but the main story will be the chance of significant snow and ice later this week.

Southeast Texas' outlook for next week's winter storm continues to worsen, with a growing likelihood of a deep freeze and substantial wintry precipitation, snow and sleet in the Houston area. Space City Weather's Eric Berger published an atypical afternoon report on Friday warning of an "increasingly likely" and drastic mix of hard freeze and snowy conditions expected in Southeast Texas early next week.

Most of the United States is being assailed with extreme winter weather this week as Arctic air blasts south from Canada, snow tracks up the Northeast coast and a potentially crippling winter storm takes aim at the South.

HOUSTON – The Houston Zoo has announced it will close on Tuesday ahead of the winter storm.

As a significant winter storm approaches the Houston area, snow, sleet and ice are all becoming certainties as the temperatures decrease and conditions are forecasted to be more frosty than expected.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch at 1:27 p.m. on Sunday valid from Tuesday noon until Wednesday 6 a.m. for Coffee, Dale, Henry, Geneva and Houston counties.

Preparations are underway from Houston to Atlanta as a rare winter storm sets its sights on the southern U.S., where it's expected to bring a messy mix of heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that could have a major impact on travel and daily life.

The FOX Forecast Center is monitoring a rare winter storm that’s expected to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain along the Gulf Coast and into the South. FOX Weather meteorologists Ari Sarsalari and Kendall Smith break down the forecast.

A rare winter storm is expected to bring heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain to Florida, Texas and other parts of the South next week. While some uncertainty remains over exactly how much snow will fall,