High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! 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 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, 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, 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 National Weather Service in Central Illinois issued their 4th "Blizzard Warning" in the entire forecast office`s 16 year history. Snowfall amounts of 20 to 28 inches were forecast for much of Northern and Western Illinois.