2011 Groundhog Day blizzard

This article is about the blizzard that occurred near or on Groundhog Day in 2011. For the blizzard that occurred 4 years later, see January 31 – February 2, 2015 North American blizzard.

2011 Groundhog Day blizzard
Category 5 "Extreme" (RSI/NOAA: 21.99)
The extratropical cyclone responsible for the blizzard striking the Midwestern United States on the afternoon of February 1
TypeExtratropical cyclone
Blizzard
Ice storm
Winter storm
Tornado outbreak
FormedJanuary 31, 2011
DissipatedFebruary 3, 2011
Lowest pressure996 mb (29.41 inHg)
Tornadoes
confirmed		3
Max. rating1EF1 tornado
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion		27.0 in (69 cm) snowfall – reported in Antioch, Illinois[1]
1.0 in (2.5 cm) ice accretion – reported in Cashtown, Pennsylvania
Fatalitiesat least 36 fatalities
Damage$1.8 billion (USD)[2]
Areas affectedCentral United States, Southeastern US, New England, Northeastern Mexico, Great Lakes, Eastern Canada

1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

The 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard[3][4][5] was a powerful and historic winter storm that affected large swaths of the United States and Canada from January 31 to February 2, 2011, especially on Groundhog Day.[3][6] During the initial stages of the storm, some meteorologists predicted that the system would affect over 100 million people in the United States.[7][8] The storm brought cold air, heavy snowfall, blowing snow, and mixed precipitation on a path from New Mexico and northern Texas to New England and Eastern Canada. The Chicago area saw 21.2 inches (54 cm) of snow and blizzard conditions, with winds of over 60 mph (100 km/h).[9] With such continuous winds, the blizzard continued to the north and affected Eastern and Atlantic Canada. Blizzard conditions affected many other large cities along the storm's path, including Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, El Paso, Las Cruces, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Detroit, Indianapolis, Dayton, Cleveland, New York City, New York's Capital District, and Boston.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Many other areas not normally used to extreme winter conditions, including Albuquerque, Dallas and Houston, experienced significant snowfall or ice accumulation. The central Illinois National Weather Service in Lincoln, Illinois, issued only their fourth blizzard warning in the forecast office's 16-year history. Snowfall amounts of 20 to 28 inches (51 to 71 cm) were forecast for much of Northern and Western Illinois.

An ice storm ahead of the winter storm's warm front also brought hazardous conditions to much of the American Midwest and New England, and many areas saw well over 1 in (2.5 cm) of ice accumulation.[17][18] Numerous power outages, flight cancellations, airport closures, road closures, roof collapses,[19] rail and bus cancellations, mail stoppages, and school, government, and business closures took place ahead of and after the storm; many of these disruptions lasted several days. Several tornado touchdowns were reported in Texas[20] and a tornado watch was issued for parts of Alabama,[21] ahead of the cold front in the warm sector of the storm. In addition, thundersnow was recorded at some locations, including downtown Chicago.[22] At least 36 deaths were reported to be related to the storm, many of them in shoveling or auto-related incidents, and the total damages were US $1.8 billion.[23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][improper synthesis?]

  1. ^ "Storm Summary Message – 1000 PM EST Feb 02 2011". National Centers for Environmental Prediction. Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  2. ^ "Billion Dollar U.S. Weather/Climate Disasters". National Climatic Data Center. 2011. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
  3. ^ a b "Will the Groundhog Day Blizzard of 2011 be one for the ages?". MLive.com. January 26, 1978. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  4. ^ "Groundhog Day Blizzard: Can you dig it? – Holland, Michigan". The Holland Sentinel. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  5. ^ "A third of the country cleans up from the Great Groundhog's Day Blizzard of 2011". Weau.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  6. ^ Bosch, Torie. "Groundhog Day Blizzard Aftermath; Chicago and Indiana Slammed [VIDEO and PICS]". Aolnews.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  7. ^ Sosnowski, Alex. "Groundhog Day Storm to Affect Over 100 Million People". AccuWeather. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  8. ^ Masters, Jeffrey. "Potentially historic winter storm poised to impact 100 million Americans". Weather Underground. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  9. ^ "NWS Chicago". NWS. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
  10. ^ Baker, Michael; Kimball, Michael (February 3, 2011). "Oklahomans dig out after blizzard". NewsOK. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  11. ^ Montgomery, Rick (February 1, 2011). "Blizzard closes highways, airport and businesses in much of KC region". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  12. ^ "Snow, Whiteout Shut Down I-70 In Missouri". KCTV 5 News. AP. February 1, 2011. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  13. ^ "Iowa reopens after snowstorm". Clinton Herald. AP. February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  14. ^ "Milwaukee death blamed on blizzard". Hudson Star-Observer. February 2, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  15. ^ "Still Snowed In: Detroit Street Still Buried". My FOX Detroit. February 7, 2011. Archived from the original on February 12, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  16. ^ Harder, Ben (February 8, 2011). "Is severe winter weather related to global warming?". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  17. ^ "Nearly 13,000 Lose Power In Ice Storm's First Blast". Indy Channel 6. February 1, 2010. Archived from the original on February 2, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  18. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (February 1, 2011). "Malloy: Ice storm could be more trouble than record snows". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  19. ^ "Farmers Watch Harsh Winter Crush Their Livelihoods". National Public Radio. Associated Press. February 5, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2011.
  20. ^ Johnson, Jena (February 1, 2011). "Tornado damages roofs, trees in Rusk County". KLTV. Archived from the original on March 5, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  21. ^ "Tornado watch set for south Alabama". WRCB. Associated Press. February 1, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ Coon, Lisa (February 1, 2011). "Point of snow return: Snowstorm touted as biggest in 40 years". The Register-Mail. Archived from the original on September 20, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tribune deaths was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tribune deaths 2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  25. ^ Williams, Deanese (February 2, 2011). "At least 7 possible storm-related deaths". chicagotribune.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2011. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  26. ^ Cite error: The named reference autogeneratedil was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  27. ^ Cite error: The named reference sledding was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  28. ^ "UPI NewsTrack TopNews – Storm rocks Midwest, pushes into Northeast". UPI. February 2, 2011. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  29. ^ Cite error: The named reference JSdeaths was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kansas Reporter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "NW Ind. man dies clearing snow; car crash kills 2". Fox19.com. January 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2013. Retrieved February 4, 2011.
  32. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fox 23 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  33. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fox19.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).