US Braces for 'Historic' Storm

One-third of the population could be affected
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 31, 2011 9:15 AM CST
US Braces for 'Historic' Storm
A man stands next to snow piled up on the sidewalk on the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan while advertising a tax preparation service, Jan. 28, 2011 in New York.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

The storms keep on coming—and the latest, expected to impact one-third of the US population, is being described as “potentially life-threatening” by the National Weather Service and “potentially historic” by the Weather Channel. It will begin today and last through Wednesday, reaching from the Colorado Rockies to the New England coast and likely affecting 100 million people. Blizzard conditions are expected, with the South getting the added bonus of severe thunderstorms with the possibility of tornadoes.

Travel is being described as dangerous, with heavy snow, ice, winds, and low visibility expected. Illinois and Indiana are bracing for the blizzard, expected to arrive in that region tomorrow, the Chicago Tribune reports. It could bring more than 18 inches of snow to certain areas—Chicago’s all-time record is 23 inches from a two-day storm in 1967, and "the last storm of this potential magnitude to hit Chicago was in Jan. 2, 1999," when 18.6 inches fell, says a meteorologist. Click for one explanation of this crazy weather.
(More snow storm stories.)

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