The
January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American winter storm, also called the
2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard, was a powerful and historic
winter storm, situated around the United States and Canada on
Groundhog Day. The storm is the
most recent winter storm to rank as a Category 5 on the
Regional Snowfall Index. During the initial stages of the storm, some meteorologists predicted that the system would affect over 100 million people in the United States. 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 between 1 and 2 feet of snow and blizzard conditions, with winds of over 60 mph. With such continuous winds, the Blizzard kept going north and affected
Eastern and
Atlantic Canada. The most notable area affected in Canada was
Toronto and the
Greater Toronto Area. 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. 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 were forecast for much of Northern and Western Illinois.