Heartland blizzard

A blizzard roaring across a third of the country crippled the nation's heartland with snow and ice as it headed for the Northeast.

Section:Gallery

Wed., Feb. 2, 2011

Hundreds of cars are seen stranded on lake Shore drive Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase lakeshore thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day.

Kiichiro Sato Associated Press
Cars are seen stranded on Lake Shore Drive, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase lakeshore thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day.

Kiichiro Sato Associated Press
Icicles form on a walkway along Lake Michigan in Port Washington, Wis., Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011.

Jeffrey Phelps Fr59249 Ap
Semi-trucks disappear into the white snow as they travel along I-70 Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2011, near Boonville, Mo. Potentially the worst winter storm to hit Missouri in decades began its trek across the state Tuesday, dumping more than a foot of snow while delivering freezing rain, blustering winds and dangerously cold temperatures.

L.G. Patterson Fr23535 Ap
High winds swirl the snow on an elevated train platform as Larry Roa waits for a train during a blizzard Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. Forecasts call for snow accumulation between one and two feet.

Charles Arbogast Associated Press
A man photographs high waves from Lake Michigan, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in Milwaukee. The area was under a blizzard warning and some freeways were shut down.

Jeffrey Phelps Fr59249 Ap
People enjoy high waves from Lake Michigan, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in Milwaukee. The area was under a blizzard warning and some freeways were shut down.

Jeffrey Phelps Fr59249 Ap
Cars are buried as a woman tries to clear her windshield Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in Milwaukee. The area was under a blizzard warning and some freeways were shut down.

Jeffrey Phelps Fr59249 Ap
Customers leave a coffee shop with a large snowman on display in Clarence, N.Y., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.

David Duprey Associated Press
A a group of people stop along Interstate 91 to help push a car out of a snow bank during a winter storm in Windsor, Conn., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.

Jessica Hill Associated Press
Eileen Black takes pictures inside of a Chicago Transit bus that was stranded overnight on Lake Shore Drive Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase lakeshore thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day.

Kiichiro Sato Associated Press
Snow accumulates on the driver seat of a stranded Chicago Transit bus after the door was left open during a severe winter storm on Lake Shore Drive, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase lakeshore thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day.

Kiichiro Sato Associated Press
Snow accumulates in a pickup truck that was stranded and left open on Lake Shore Drive, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Chicago. A winter blizzard of historic proportions wobbled an otherwise snow-tough Chicago, stranding hundreds of drivers for up to 12 hours overnight on the city's showcase lakeshore thoroughfare and giving many city schoolchildren their first ever snow day.

Kiichiro Sato Associated Press
Jessica Smith waits for a train at a station in Chicago, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011. More than 20 inches of snow have accumulated in some areas of Chicago, and more is on the way. Power outages, school and business closings, motorists stranded on roadways and public transit disruptions are reported throughout the city and suburbs.

Nam Huh Associated Press
An ice covered mailbox is seen as a PECO crew works in a neighborhood without power in Coatesville, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.

Matt Rourke Associated Press
A man shovels in the early morning hours Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011, in Milwaukee, Wis. The area is under a blizzard warning and some freeways were shut down.

Jeffrey Phelps Associated Press
Ice hangs from a guard rail of the Walnut Street Bridge as pedestrians pass by in Harrisburg, Pa., Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011.

Matt Rourke Associated Press
A dog named Muldoon waits in the snow for its owner, Tess Taylor, who stopped for coffee on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2011 in Barre, Vt. Schools, business and municipal offices are closed across Northern New England as the storm-weary region braces for what forecasters say could be more than a foot of snow in some places. Early Wednesday snow was falling heavily across much of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont after a smaller storm dropped a few inches across the region on Tuesday.

Toby Talbot Associated Press