The Blizzard of the Century

It was the storm that brought most of the nation to a crawl and a massive clean up. Some are calling it the Great Blizzard of 2011; some are calling it “Snowpocalypse”. Whatever it may be called it will be one for the record books. The storm that hit the nation last Tuesday (February 4^th) left two thirds of the nation facing down power lines, shuttered highways and thousands of airport cancellations, along with a 2,000 mile trail of snow and ice from the Midwest to the northeast.

Snow falls that were record breaking and cancellations for days, it was the every kids dream snow day. For parents and businesses it was more of a nightmare. Shoveling driveways for hours and waiting for plows to clear a path, leaving roads still un-drivable for most places. With blizzard like winds reaching up to 50mph and over a foot of snow in some places of the country, driving was out of question for most.

Those that braved the heavy snow fall and strong winds were not all lucky. 11 deaths were reported due to the blizzard according to the NBC Chicago News. ABC News tells of three unfortunate deaths… A woman died on her way to work, she got stuck on a railroad track and was thrown from her car when a train hit her vehicle. A man in Detroit died in a car accident caused by icy road condition. In New York a homeless man burned to death when he tried to light cans of cooking fuel to stay warm.

Some thought they would leave town before the storm hit made it not much farther than the airport. This storm caused over 5,000 flights to be canceled. Flights were not the only thing that took a big hit that day. The economy lost millions in profit do to businesses closing. According the NBC Chicago the blizzard cost the Chicago area around $600millions. Other cities such as New York, Detroit and Indianapolis were affected financially from the storm. 

Check out these picture from around Grand Rapids, Michigan!