Blizzards and lizards: Florida facing falling temperatures - and iguanas

Floridians have been asked to be on the alert for iguanas falling out of trees and possibly hurting them as temperatures plunge in their state and other parts of the US.

- Richard Luscombe

The warning came as one of the season's first blasts of wintry weather began to take hold in the eastern two-thirds of the US, from the Great Lakes to Florida and Texas.

Heavy snow was forecast in northern states. A winter storm warning went into effect yesterday, cautioning the public about wind gusts up to 30mph combined with up to 18in (46cm) of precipitation, creating a phenomenon known as thundersnow. In some parts of the midwest, more than a foot of snow had already fallen by yesterday morning.