2011 Groundhog Day Blizzard, North America

United States
Illinois
In Chicago, in anticipation of the imminent blizzard conditions, 1,300 flights were canceled at O'Hare and Midway airports. By 4:30pm, CST (22:30 GMT), the storm reached blizzard status with sustained winds exceeding 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), with white-out conditions being reported by spotters in the Old Town neighborhood on the city's North Side. The Chicago Public Schools announced, on February 1, that public schools would be closed on the following day (Wednesday, February 2), which marked the first cancellation of classes district wide since the Blizzard of 1999. Heavy snow and high sustained winds gusting in excess of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), caused rail switches to freeze on the CTA's Red Line and blew portion of the roof off Wrigley Field. Northwestern University and the University of Chicago canceled classes Wednesday for the first time in over a decade due to the weather. Over 39,000 state workers were ordered not to come into work due to the weather; this was the largest figure since a blizzard in 1978. Mail service was stopped on Wednesday for six post office regions in Northern Illinois. Amtrak train service out of Chicago was also cancelled across Illinois on Wednesday.