2011 blizzard affecting the U.S. and Canada
The 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard 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. 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 of snow and blizzard conditions, with winds of over . 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. 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 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 of ice accumulation. Numerous power outages, flight cancellations, airport closures, road closures, roof collapses, 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 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, including downtown Chicago. 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.
Meteorological synopsis.
A High-pressure system with a maximum pressure of moved ahead of the storm, moving eastward across Montana. A low-pressure system from the Pacific Ocean later came ashore over Northern California and crossed the Rocky Mountains, merging with an Alberta clipper low and a developing Texas low, drawing moisture from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The storm later intensified and moved northeast, tanked, and developed a long warm front stretching toward the New England states, and moving northeast along this jet stream track.
Lake effect snow events started over Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan from northeasterly winds. Following the predominant jet pattern, the storm developed a very rapid forward trajectory and began to migrate toward the lower Great Lakes. The heaviest snow fell in a wide swath from central Oklahoma to Illinois, Indiana and the Ohio Valley. An official blizzard warning was issued in Southern Ontario for the first time since 1993, although the Canadian definition changed in 2010.
Areas affected.
Canada.
Nova Scotia.
Because the storm dumped some of snow in parts of Nova Scotia, and winds up to some 50 km/h (31 mph) to some areas in eastern Canada, schools and businesses were closed on Thursday morning, the 3rd of February. Lower Sackville near Halifax received of snow.
New Brunswick.
Numerous school, bus and flight cancellations occurred in the province in preparation for the biggest winter storm during the winter of 2010–2011. A barn roof collapsed during the storm in the community of Baie Verte.
Ontario.
The storm dropped 20–30 centimetres of snow over Southern Ontario. Hamilton saw more than 25 centimetres due to an intense Lake Effect band from the west end of Lake Ontario caused by an enhanced wind from the east-northeast, Toronto was spared more than was forecasted with 15 centimetres and a winter storm warning in effect. Areas from the Lake Huron shoreline east to London and Hamilton were under a blizzard warning. There were reports of thundersnow in Windsor, Ontario, when the storm began to hit the region Tuesday night on February 1; the city and nearby Chatham-Kent also declared a snow emergency, effectively enacting a parking ban to ease snowplow efforts, due to forecasted snow totals of 30+ centimetres, and the snow clean-up in the city is likely to cost $700,000 CAD, about 1.5 times more than normal. The Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board closed all schools for the first time since the Blizzard of 1999, a controversial decision given the less than anticipated outcome and snowfall totals resulting from the storm. Schools were also closed in the Windsor area and elsewhere.
Quebec.
A traffic pile-up stretching three kilometres near Montreal, Quebec involving a school bus and many other vehicles sent 29 people to hospital for injuries. All schools in the Eastern Townships School Board near Sherbrooke were closed.
Newfoundland.
Wind speeds exceeding hit areas near Clarenville and Bonavista, while schools in eastern parts of St. John's were closed.
Mexico.
Northern Mexico suffered widespread infrastructure damage from the storm, and several weather-related deaths. In Chihuahua City, the temperature dropped to in Ciudad Juárez, which lies just across the border from El Paso, Texas, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, a regional state of emergency was declared Tuesday evening, just ahead of the cold weather system, with Mexican authorities urging citizens to stay indoors. Despite the snow and ice that developed across the borderland, the major International Bridges remained open during the blizzard. Additionally, to help ease the electricity crash across Texas due to the freezing weather, Mexican officials arranged for the transfer of 280 megawatts of power to the United States via utility hookups located in Nuevo Laredo (across from Laredo, Texas) and Piedras Negras, Coahuila (near Eagle Pass, Texas). The cold wave behind the storm's cold front left temperatures plunging to in the Ciudad Juárez metropolitan area, and in the mountains area plunging to , resulting in the deaths of at least six people in the coldest temperatures recorded in the area in at least half a century. In addition, 35 animals died at a zoo, and closures of schools and factories occurred in the city.
On Wednesday, authorities in Juárez announced that convoys would be traveling out to remote regions and slum areas to ensure that citizens are warm and have the supplies they need to get through the next few days. On Thursday, Mexican officials suspended energy exports to Texas, citing cold weather damage at five power stations across Mexico that resulted in a total loss of 1,000 megawatts of electricity in Northern Mexico. Power stations in Mexico were able to meet the resulting energy demands in Northern Mexico, but could not spare additional electricity to aid Texas. In Juarez, overnight temperatures in the single digits left 90% of the city without water service due to frozen pipes, and the failure of thermoelectric generators at a power station in Samalayuca, 30 miles south of Juarez, left citizens without power for roughly five hours.
Nuevo León.
In Monterrey, Nuevo León's capital city, the cold air killed many trees and other types of tropical plants. Snow was observed in the high peaks in the mountains and the fountain in the main Alameda park got frozen overnight.
United States.
Connecticut.
Connecticut experienced up to of snow and ice accumulations, resulting in widespread tree damage and power outages. The additional snow and ice accumulation on top of several feet of snow prior to the storm led to roof collapses in Bethany, Waterbury, and Middletown. The West Rock Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway was closed for several hours due to accidents caused by slippery conditions, while service was disrupted on the Metro-North Railroad and at Bradley International Airport. The heavy snow caused at least 136 roof collapses of barns, greenhouses and other farm structures.
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 , with white-out conditions being reported by spotters in the Old Town neighborhood on the city's North Side. while Lake Shore Drive was temporarily shut down due to impassable conditions. City officials said on February 2, that at least 900 cars and buses were stranded on Lake Shore Drive, with their drivers and passengers being trapped in some cases for as long as 12 hours (many drivers opting to stay with their cars in the false-fear of being ticketed for abandoning their vehicles instead of walking the short distance to the high-rise buildings lining the drive), but that closing the roadway earlier could have resulted in disastrous traffic conditions and possible accidents on other Chicago area streets. Tow trucks began pulling cars from Lake Shore Drive on the evening of February 2, and moving them into six temporary lots for motorists who abandoned their vehicles to arrive and claim. The city of Chicago was unable to keep track of the license plates for each vehicle, which led to complaints from many drivers and by the time they located their vehicles, many were unable to retrieve them from the lots because they were parked bumper-to-bumper.; on February 3, the City of Chicago reopened Lake Shore Drive to traffic before rush hour.
On February 1, the Chicago Public Schools announced that some schools would be closed and some would remain open on the following day (Wednesday, February 2), which marked the first district-wide cancellation of classes since the Blizzard of 1999. Heavy snow and high sustained winds gusting in excess of , caused rail switches to freeze on the CTA's Red Line and blew a portion of the roof off Wrigley Field. Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology 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 1979. Mail service was stopped on Wednesday for six post office regions in Northern Illinois. Amtrak train service out of Chicago was also canceled across Illinois on Wednesday.
In the central part of the state, numerous municipalities were all but shut down by the storm. On Monday, residents rushed to the stores to stock up on groceries, and numerous stores reported record sales. On Tuesday, several school districts and universities pre-emptively canceled classes for Tuesday evening and all-day Wednesday. Many school districts planned to close a second day in a row, on Thursday. About of snow fell Monday night. Tuesday afternoon brought heavy snowfall and sustained winds, with gusts of over . Local government officials encouraged all businesses to close down, and local hospitals braced for the storm by preparing living and sleeping areas for essential personnel. Flights from area airports were canceled, and local officials repeatedly urged residents not to travel, since because of the whiteout conditions, snow plows had been taken off the roads. Interstate 80 was closed Tuesday night between Morris and Princeton. On Wednesday, I-290 and Illinois Route 53 were shut down from Lake Cook Road in Arlington Heights to St. Charles Road in Elmhurst. Forty vehicles were abandoned on Route 53. Parts of Interstate 57 were also shut down. The state police described most expressways as "impassable". 50 motorists stranded on Illinois Route 47 south of Huntley received assistance from a snowmobile club, while dozens of motorists had to be rescued on Illinois Route 72, west of Hampshire. During the storm's peak on Tuesday night, more than 100,000 customers were without electricity across the state, including 79,000 ComEd customers across Northern Illinois and 35,800 Ameren customers in Central Illinois. Several charities set up shelters for the homeless and those stranded by the blizzard, and Governor Pat Quinn mobilized 500 Illinois National Guard troops to help rescue stranded motorists. Hundreds of motorists had been rescued off Interstates 290, 55, 57, and 80. In addition, over 80 traffic accidents were reported.
11 snow-related deaths had been reported in Illinois by February 3. The body of an individual was recovered from Lake Michigan by Chicago Police. The pedestrian had reportedly been walking on a lake-front pathway when he had been blown into the lake by strong winds. In Grayslake, a man was killed in a crash while driving through the storm, while a woman in Mundelein died from