It was so cold across Florida on Thursday morning that temperatures in at least four cities were colder than in Alaska, but a desperately needed warmup was on the way for millions of Americans in the South following a deadly winter storm unmatched in decades.

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

Storm Warning is in effect for the entire Interstate 10 corridor where snow and ice accumulations could reach 4" over the next 24 hours. Pensacola will likely see the most snowfall in the state while greater amounts of ice are anticipated for cities such as Tallahassee and Jacksonville.

Frozen temperatures created an icy mess overnight in Northwest Florida, but as the sun rose Thursday some roads and bridges began to reopen.

Officials are asking Panhandle residents to avoid being on the roads. Freezing temperatures mean icy, dangerous conditions.

Tuesday and Wednesday delivered a winter wonderland for some and delayed travel plans for others as an unusual layer of snow and ice coated North Florida. Preliminary storm data from the National Weather Service show as much as six inches of snow in Bonifay in Holmes County and in Fountain and Cedar Grove in Bay

Warmer temperatures are finally peaking over the horizon in Northwest Florida, but it's still going to be cold.

Florida is in the rare position of being able to say they have more snow than Massachusetts. In the recent s nowfall on Sunday into Monday, Boston received 5 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. Ashburnham and Holden, both in Central Massachusetts, had reports of 7 inches and 7.5 inches of snow.

“I’m so glad I’m so much farther south. I moved to Florida to get away from the snow!” commented Jennifer Saxon Halam on his post. According to her Facebook, she lives in Englewood on Florida’s west coast about 88 miles south of Tampa. But just wait: Weather Underground forecasts a low of 38 there next Saturday morning.

A reporter with the joint Tallahassee Bureau for the Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times literally got her first taste of snow on Wednesday.