At a Glance

Four winter storms have brought accumulating snow to the South since early December.Winter Storm Benji kicked off the snowy stretch, when snow fell as far south as Brownsville, Texas.Winter storms Grayson and Hunter also brought snowfall to the South in early January.Most recently, Winter Storm Inga brought the next round of wintry weather to portions of the South.

Over the last five weeks, fourwinter weather events have brought snow and ice across the South, including mid-January'sWinter Storm Inga.

As shown below on the estimated season-to-date snowfall map, much of the South has seen at least some accumulation of snow.

Areas as far south as southern Texas and northern Florida have even seen measurable snowfall since early December.

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Estimated snowfall this season through Jan. 14, 2018.

(National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center)

The reason for this is theareal extent of cold air since about Christmas. A persistent period of bitterly cold temperatures maintained its grip on much of the central and eastern U.S. from late December through early January.

That brutal chill was courtesy of an amplified jet stream, which consisted of a southward dip over the eastern U.S., andallowed multiple rounds of Arctic air to surge into the central and eastern U.S.

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Widespread daily record-low temperatures and record-cold high temperatures were set Dec. 27 through Jan. 7.

Additionally, dozens of cities experienced the coldest first week of the year, Jan. 1 through Jan. 7, , according to data from theSoutheast Regional Climate Center(SERCC).

Temperature rankings for Jan. 1, 2018, through Jan. 7, 2018, compared to other first weeks of the year. Purple boxes indicate cities that had at least a top-five-coldest first week of the year.

(Southeast Regional Climate Center)

Several cities in the South set new records for coldest start to the year. Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina,both recorded the coldest first week of the year, breaking records set in 1887.

The record-breaking cold even extended into Florida. Tallahassee experienced the coldest first seven days of the year, with an average temperature of 37.1 degrees, breaking the previous record set in 2010. Jacksonville saw its second-coldest, while Orlando saw its fourth-coldest, with average temperatures of 38.9 degrees and 47.3 degrees, respectively.

Meanwhile, New Orleans tied the record for thecoldest first week of the year, set in 1970, with an average temperature of 39.6 degrees.

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Needless to say, many residents of the South are sick of the snow and cold, and it's only mid-January.

Here's a look back at the South's winter storms so far.

Winter Storm Benji: Dec. 7 to Dec. 9

This snowy stretch kicked off when dumped snow onthe South Dec. 7 to Dec. 9, and heavy, wet snow knocked out power to hundreds of thousands.

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Snow from Winter Storm Benji fellas far south as Brownsville, Texas, on Dec. 8, with 0.3 inches of accumulation reported at the city's airport. That was only the third measurable – defined as at least 0.1 inches –snow event on record in one of America's southernmost cities, located at roughly the same latitude as Miami.

The southern edge of Benji's snow also brushed the western Florida Panhandle overnight Dec. 8 and early Dec. 9, producing "a dusting at most, perhaps up to a half-inch for a few" locations, according to Tim Cermak, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mobile, Alabama.

Benji went on to dump snow along the northern Gulf Coast, Southeast, Appalachians, mid-Atlantic and Northeast. This includeddouble-digit snowfall totals not only in the southern Appalachiansbut also the.

The event was so remarkable that it qualified for the list of .

Winter Storm Grayson: Jan. 3 to Jan. 4

Three and a half weeks later, brought amess of snow, sleet and freezing rain from northern Florida to the Carolinas Jan. 3 and 4.

Just before 8:30 a.m. EST on Jan. 3,0.1 inches of snow and sleetwas measured at the National Weather Service office in Tallahassee – the city's first measurable snowsince 1989.

Up to a quarter-inch of ice accumulated in Lake City, Florida, between Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Some light freezing rain reached the western part of Duval County, and snowflakes were seen briefly at the NWS office in Jacksonville.

Light ice accumulation on elevated surfaces and trees was seen.

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Charleston International Airport in South Carolina picked upJan. 3, making it the city's third-heaviest one-day snowfall on record. It was also the city's, when 6 inches accumulated in Charleston.

Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport in Georgia received– their seventh-heaviest one-day snowfall on record. It was also the city's heaviest snow event since Dec. 23, 1989, when 3.2 inches was measured.

Winter Storm Hunter: Jan. 12

Snow, sleet and freezing rain from led to very slick roadwaysin eastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, northern Louisiana and western Kentucky on Jan. 12.

Interstate 40was closed in parts of westTennesseeon Jan. 12 as the slippery conditions yielded several accidents along the highway.

Freezing rain developed inNashville and across Middle Tennessee during the late-afternoon hours on Jan. 12but switched over to snow by evening. A half-inch to two inches of snow fell across most of the area, but some spots in northern Tennessee saw more.

Farther west, snowfall accumulated to nearly an inch and a half in east Memphis.

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Reports of snow came in from , and Natchez, Mississippi, on the morning of Jan. 12. More than 4 inches of snow and sleet may have fallen in northern Louisiana, according to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center, but generally, amounts were less than 2 inches.

Winter Storm Inga: Jan. 16 to Jan. 17

brought a slippery mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain to portions of the SouthJan. 16 and 17.

Inga was the in Deep South Texas, bringing sleet as far south as Brownsville, resulting in icy roads in a city located at roughly the same latitude as Miami.

Snow was reported as far south as Panama City and, early Jan. 17, and sleet accumulated on vehicle tops and grassy areas in Pensacola, Florida, overnight Jan. 16.

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Snow also , overnight Jan. 16. Mobile Regional Airport officially measured 0.1 inches of snow and sleet, making it only theoccurred in the same winter–January 1977 being the other.

In Atlanta, 2.3 inches of snow was recorded late Jan. 16 into early Jan. 17, shutting down schools, triggering major delays at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and making roads treacherous.

Portions of theand Houston metros picked up light freezing rain and sleet accumulations Jan. 16, leading to numerous accidents. State Highway 225 in Deer Park, east of Houston, was, andat the Fred Hartman Bridge led to delays in the area during that evening's commute.

Sleet drifts had topped a half-foot in portions of the Houston metro area by the evening of Jan. 16.as temperatures plunged into the 20s and upper teens.

Brian Donegan is a digital meteorologist at weather.com. Follow him on,and .