page_title: January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American blizzard
section_title: Wisconsin
hierarchical_section_title: January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American blizzard / Areas affected / United States / Wisconsin
caption_attribution_description: English: Accumulated snow covers car in driveway of Pleasant Prairie Wisconsin residence.
context_page_description: 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 United States and Canada 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 21.2 inches of snow and blizzard conditions, with winds of over 60 mph. With such continuous winds, the Blizzard continued to the 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 City, New York's Capital District, and Boston.
context_section_description: In Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker declared a state of emergency in 29 Wisconsin counties due to the snowstorm, and deployed 75 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers. Early on February 2, the state's emergency management agency issued a Civil Danger Warning warning drivers completely off the roads at the risk of being stranded due to dangerous conditions forcing county plows, law enforcement and salters off the roads, a declaration distributed via NOAA Weather Radio's Emergency Alert System and local media outlets, and otherwise only issued for other major events such as terrorist attacks and water contamination emergencies. The same warning was issued hours later completely disallowing travel within Lake County, Illinois. Interstate 94 and Interstate 43 south of Milwaukee to the state line were both closed for a time due to dangerous conditions and many stranded vehicles.
  Nearly all government buildings, schools, and public facilities were closed for February 2, 2011 in the southeastern region of the state, including Milwaukee, Waukesha, Racine, Kenosha, Sheboygan, and Madison, with Racine and Kenosha receiving the largest amount of snow, just shy of 24 inches. Three people died of cardiac-related illnesses while clearing snow in Milwaukee.
caption: Accumulation covering car in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin
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