2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard, North America

The January 31–February 2, 2011 North American winter storm, also called the 2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard, is an ongoing historic winter storm, situated around the US and Canadian holiday Groundhog Day. In 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, blowing snow and mixed precipitation on a path from New Mexico and northern Texas to New England and Eastern Canada. In Chicago, winds ahead of the storm exceeded 30 mph (48 km/h) and snowfall forecasts were in excess of 24 in (61 cm) for much of Illinois. Blizzard conditions affected many large cities along the storm's path, including Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Chicago, Des Moines, Milwaukee, Detroit, New York City, and Boston.
An ice storm ahead of the winter storm's warm front also brought hazardous conditions to much of the American Midwest and New England, as many areas were expected to receive well over 1 in (2.5 cm) of ice accumulation. Numerous power outages, flight cancellations, airport closures and pre-emptive bus and school cancellations took place ahead of the main storm. Several tornado touchdowns were reported in Texas and a tornado watch was issued for parts of Alabama, ahead of the cold front in the warm sector of the storm. In addition, thundersnow was recorded at some locations, increasing the overall snowfall rate.