2011 Groundhog Day blizzard: Difference between revisions

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== Impact ==
== Impact ==
===Illinois===

In [[Chicago]], in anticipation of imminent blizzard conditions, 1,300 flights were canceled at [[O'Hare International Airport]].<ref>http://www.suntimes.com/3601097-423/snow-tuesday-storm-streets-weather.html</ref> The storm is expected to bring occurrences of the rare meteorological phenomenon of [[thundersnow]]. By 4:30pm, [[Central Time Zone (North America)|CST]] (22:30 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]]), with sustained winds exceeding 30 mph, [[Whiteout (weather)|white-out conditions]] were reported in the [[Old Town, Chicago|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 [[North American blizzard of 1999|Blizzard of 1999]]. <ref>http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/02/01/cps-cancels-after-school-programs-for-blizzard/</ref>

In the central part of the state, several municipalities were all but shut down by the storm. On Monday, residents rushed to the stores to stock up on groceries, and several stores reported record sales.<ref>http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_67812706-2e66-11e0-a74c-001cc4c002e0.html</ref> On Tuesday, several school districts and universities pre-emptively cancelled classes for Tuesday evening and all-day Wednesday. <ref>http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_cb0893fe-2d67-11e0-9714-001cc4c002e0.html</ref> About 1.5 inches of snow fell Monday night. <ref>http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_b8f59e8c-2cdb-11e0-abfa-001cc4c03286.html</ref> Tuesday afternoon brought heavy snowfall and sustained 40 mile per hour winds, with gusts of over 50 miles per hour. 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.<ref>http://www.pjstar.com/homepage/x896129390/Continuous-winter-storm-coverage-from-the-Journal-Star-staff</ref> <ref>http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1526810/Mayor-urges-businesses-to-close-and-people-to-stay-home</ref> Flights from area airports were canceled, and local officials repeatedly urged residents not to travel, as due to the whiteout conditions, snow plows had been taken off the roads.<ref> http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_1d241172-2e67-11e0-9c54-001cc4c002e0.html</ref> <ref>http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1526810/Mayor-urges-businesses-to-close-and-people-to-stay-home</ref> [[Interstate 80]] was closed Tuesday night between [[Morris, Illinois|Morris]] and [[Princeton, Illinois|Princeton]], while [[Lake Shore Drive]] was temporarily shut down due to impassible conditions.<ref>http://www.suntimes.com/3609821-417/lake-shore-closed-drive-clear.html</ref> As of 9:30pm Tuesday, more than 100,000 customers were without power across the state, including 79,000 [[ComEd]] customers across Northern Illinois and 35,800 [[Ameren]] customers in Downstate Illinois.<ref>http://www.fox2now.com/news/sns-ap-il--winterweather-poweroutages,0,7757926.story</ref> Several charities set up shelters for the homeless and those stranded by the blizzard, <ref>http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_70b0c4d0-2e39-11e0-b30d-001cc4c03286.html</ref> and Illinois governor [[Pat Quinn]] mobilized the [[Illinois National Guard]] to help rescue stranded motorists. <ref>http://www.pjstar.com/news/x172495449/Quinn-activates-Illinois-National-Guard-before-storm</ref>

===Missouri===

In [[Missouri]], a state of emergency has been declared by Governor Jay Nixon and has activated the Missouri National Guard [1]. Interstate 70, which runs east/west for the entire length of Missouri was closed by the Missouri Department of Transportation from Wentzville to Kansas City, nearly 3/4 of the length of the interstate that runs through Missouri [2].

=== States of emergency ===
=== States of emergency ===
A [[state of emergency]] was declared in several American states, including Oklahoma and [[Missouri]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Reuters|first=LAT|title=Monster winter storm begins path across United States|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-naw-winter-weather-20110202,0,2691727.story|accessdate=2 February 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 1, 2010}}</ref>
A [[state of emergency]] was declared in several American states, including Oklahoma and [[Missouri]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Reuters|first=LAT|title=Monster winter storm begins path across United States|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-naw-winter-weather-20110202,0,2691727.story|accessdate=2 February 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=February 1, 2010}}</ref>

Revision as of 04:20, 2 February 2011

Groundhog Day Storm
Satellite image of the storm on the evening of February 1 over the American Midwest.
TypeWinter storm
FormedJanuary 29, 2011
DissipatedStill active
Lowest pressure996 mb (29.41 inHg)
Maximum snowfall
or ice accretion		19 in (48 cm)
DamageUnknown
Areas affectedAmerican Midwest, Southeastern US, New England, Great Lakes, Eastern Canada

The 2011 Groundhog Day Winter Storm is an ongoing major winter storm. In the initial stages of the storm, some meteorologists predicted that the system would affect over 100 million people in the United States.[1][2] 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. I n 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.[3] Blizzard conditions affected many large cities along the storm's path.

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 recieve well over 1 in (2.5 cm) of ice accumulation.[4][5] 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 from Texas[6] to Alabama[7], 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.[8]

Meteorological synopsis

By the end of January, an Alberta Clipper containing cold air from the polar vortex drifted across The Dakotas, while a large Arctic high pressure system with a maximum pressure higher than 1050 kPa followed behind it, moving across Montana. A low pressure system from the Pacific Ocean later crossed the Rocky Mountains, merging with the Alberta Clipper low and a developing Texas low drawing moisture from the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The storm later intensified, developing 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.

Storm effects

The storm dropped heavy accumulations of snow, freezing rain, sleet, rain and thunderstorms.

Snow and blizzards

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 2009.[9]

Freezing rain

More than one inch of freezing rain lasting over 12 hours is expected in areas immediately to the north of the warm front, and some areas have already recieved ice accumulations.

Winds

Strong gale-force winds were expected in many areas, especially places northwest of the Appalachian Mountains.

Flash freeze

Parts of Texas and Louisiana east to the Mississippi Valley and Florida Panhandle experienced or were to experience rapid drops in temperature and flash freeze events after the squall line moved through.

Storm surge

Localized flooding was expected to occur in northeastern Illinois, near the coast of Lake Michigan where strong winds could bring high storm surge and lakeshore flooding. Wind gusts up to 60 mph (97 km/h) are expected to create waves up to 25 25 ft (7.6 m) to areas in the Chicago Metropolitan Area.

Thunderstorms

Severe thunderstorms erupted in many areas of the Midwest and Southeastern United States. Thunderstorms accompanied both heavy rain and snow.

Tornadoes

Several tornado outbreaks were reported from Texas eastwards.

Impact

Illinois

In Chicago, in anticipation of imminent blizzard conditions, 1,300 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport.[10] The storm is expected to bring occurrences of the rare meteorological phenomenon of thundersnow. By 4:30pm, CST (22:30 GMT), with sustained winds exceeding 30 mph, white-out conditions were reported 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. [11]

In the central part of the state, several municipalities were all but shut down by the storm. On Monday, residents rushed to the stores to stock up on groceries, and several stores reported record sales.[12] On Tuesday, several school districts and universities pre-emptively cancelled classes for Tuesday evening and all-day Wednesday. [13] About 1.5 inches of snow fell Monday night. [14] Tuesday afternoon brought heavy snowfall and sustained 40 mile per hour winds, with gusts of over 50 miles per hour. 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.[15] [16] Flights from area airports were canceled, and local officials repeatedly urged residents not to travel, as due to the whiteout conditions, snow plows had been taken off the roads.[17] [18] Interstate 80 was closed Tuesday night between Morris and Princeton, while Lake Shore Drive was temporarily shut down due to impassible conditions.[19] As of 9:30pm Tuesday, more than 100,000 customers were without power across the state, including 79,000 ComEd customers across Northern Illinois and 35,800 Ameren customers in Downstate Illinois.[20] Several charities set up shelters for the homeless and those stranded by the blizzard, [21] and Illinois governor Pat Quinn mobilized the Illinois National Guard to help rescue stranded motorists. [22]

Missouri

In Missouri, a state of emergency has been declared by Governor Jay Nixon and has activated the Missouri National Guard [1]. Interstate 70, which runs east/west for the entire length of Missouri was closed by the Missouri Department of Transportation from Wentzville to Kansas City, nearly 3/4 of the length of the interstate that runs through Missouri [2].

States of emergency

A state of emergency was declared in several American states, including Oklahoma and Missouri.[23]

Preparations

Local governments ahead of the storm prepared residents on procedures to follow during the storm. This included parking and driving restrictions and preparation of road clearing equipment. Street clearing crews applied chemicals to the roadways to pre-melt ice and snow and checked equipment prior to the event.[24]

Airport traffic

At least 6,400 flight cancellations occurred across North America before the storm.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Impact was severe at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, as over 1,100 flights were cancelled there.[32]

Schools

Numerous school closures were made and were expected.[33][34][35]

Power outages

Many local and widespread power outages affected locations along the storm track, including in Ohio[36][37][38], Oklahoma[39], New Mexico[40], Indiana[41], Texas[42], Colorado[43] and Kentucky[38].

Super Bowl

The severe ice storm also affected the Dallas-Fort Worth area, bringing a coating of ice to the ground after a rapid freeze. This caused some damage ahead of Super Bowl XLV.[44][45][46]

See also

References

  1. ^ Sosnowski, Alex. "Groundhog Day Storm to Affect Over 100 Million People". AccuWeather. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  2. ^ Masters, Jeffrey. "Potentially historic winter storm poised to impact 100 million Americans". Weather Underground. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  3. ^ Alaspa, Bryan (February 2, 2010). "http://www.huliq.com/10304/chicago-blizzard-slams-city-shuts-dow n-airports-and-major-roads". HULIQ. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  4. ^ News, Indiana (February 1, 2010). "Nearly 13,000 Lose Power In Ice Storm's First Blast". Indy Channel 6. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Pazniokas, Mark (February 1, 2011). "Malloy: Ice storm could be more trouble than record snows". The Connecticut Mirror. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  6. ^ Johnson, Jena (February 1, 2011). "Tornado damages roofs, trees in Rusk County". KLTV. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  7. ^ Press, Associated (February 1, 2011). "Tornado watch set for south Alabama". WRCB. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  8. ^ Coon, Lisa (February 1, 2011). "Point of snow return: Snowstorm touted as biggest in 40 years". The Register-Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  9. ^ Pope, Alexandra (February 1, 2011). "What is a blizzard?". The Weather Network News. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  10. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/3601097-423/snow-tuesday-storm-streets-weather.html
  11. ^ http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/02/01/cps-cancels-after-school-programs-for-blizzard/
  12. ^ http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_67812706-2e66-11e0-a74c-001cc4c002e0.html
  13. ^ http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_cb0893fe-2d67-11e0-9714-001cc4c002e0.html
  14. ^ http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_b8f59e8c-2cdb-11e0-abfa-001cc4c03286.html
  15. ^ http://www.pjstar.com/homepage/x896129390/Continuous-winter-storm-coverage-from-the-Journal-Star-staff
  16. ^ http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1526810/Mayor-urges-businesses-to-close-and-people-to-stay-home
  17. ^ http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_1d241172-2e67-11e0-9c54-001cc4c002e0.html
  18. ^ http://www.pjstar.com/news/x1526810/Mayor-urges-businesses-to-close-and-people-to-stay-home
  19. ^ http://www.suntimes.com/3609821-417/lake-shore-closed-drive-clear.html
  20. ^ http://www.fox2now.com/news/sns-ap-il--winterweather-poweroutages,0,7757926.story
  21. ^ http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/article_70b0c4d0-2e39-11e0-b30d-001cc4c03286.html
  22. ^ http://www.pjstar.com/news/x172495449/Quinn-activates-Illinois-National-Guard-before-storm
  23. ^ Reuters, LAT (February 1, 2010). "Monster winter storm begins path across United States". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ Grove, Dustin (January 31, 2011). "Michiana preps for major winter storm". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  25. ^ Journal, Business (February 1, 2011). "Flights canceled as ice, snow hit airlines". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  26. ^ Johnston-Barnes, Owain (February 1, 2011). "Weather causes Bermuda flight cancellations". The Royal Gazette. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  27. ^ Credeur, Mary Jane; Mary Schlangenstein (February 1, 2011). "United Airlines, Delta Speed Snow Cancellation Decisions to Avoid `Havoc'". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  28. ^ News, Postmedia (February 1, 2011). "Southern Ontario hunkers down for major snow storm". The Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  29. ^ Mahoney, Hill (February 1, 2011). "Southern Ontario braces for a snowy 'slammer'". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  30. ^ News, VOA (February 1, 2011). "US Winter Weather Forces 6,400 Flight Cancellations". Voice of America. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  31. ^ Brown, Julie (February 1, 2011). "Snow forces dozens of flight cancellations in S. Fla". Miami-Dade Breaking News. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  32. ^ Press, Associated (February 1, 2011). "Midwest snow forecast forces more than 1,200 cancellations at Chicago airports". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  33. ^ Pedro, Kelly (February 1, 2011). "Schools likely to close Wednesday". London Free Press. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  34. ^ Reports, Staff (February 1, 2011). "Greater Lafayette Snow Closures for February 2". Lafayette Online. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  35. ^ Porterfield, Barry (February 1, 2011). "School closures an early decision". Pauls Valley Daily Democrat. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  36. ^ Yost, Denise (February 1, 2011). "Ganahl: Serious Trouble". nbc4i.com. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  37. ^ Report, Staff (February 1, 2011). "22,000 without power as ice and wind wreak havoc on wires". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  38. ^ a b 19, Fox (February 1, 2011). "Over 10,000 homes without power in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky". FOX19. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has numeric name (help)
  39. ^ Evatt, Robert (February 1, 2011). "Power outages not widespread". Tulsa World. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  40. ^ Gamm, Joe (February 1, 2011). "Power outages affect region". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  41. ^ Press, Associated (February 1, 2011). "Power outages in Indiana from overnight ice concentrated in Terre Haute area". Daily Reporter. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  42. ^ Morten, Nicole (February 1, 2011). "Power Outage Shuts Down School at Navarro Elementary *Update*". KBTX. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  43. ^ News, KKTV (February 1, 2011). "Power Outage In Teller County". KKTV. Retrieved 2 February 2011. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  44. ^ Banks, Don (February 1, 2011). "Rodgers, cold-weather Pack right at home with indoors Super Bowl". Sports Illustrated CNN. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  45. ^ Alexander, Jeff (February 1, 2011). "Ice Storm Wreaks Havoc on Dallas During Super Bowl Week". WBAY. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
  46. ^ Naylor, Dave (February 1, 2011). "NAYLOR: TRADITION HAS WON THE DAY AT SUPER BOWL XLV". TSN. Retrieved 2 February 2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2011_Groundhog_Day_blizzard&oldid=411515263"