The system stretched more than 2,000 miles across a third of the country and promised to leave in its aftermath a chilly cloak of teeth-chattering cold, with temperatures in the single digits or lower.
Winds topped 60 mph in Texas. The newspaper in Tulsa canceled its print edition for the first time in more than a century. In Chicago, public schools called a snow day for the first time in 12 years, and both major airports gave up on flying until at least Wednesday afternoon.
The storm also led Chicago officials to close the city's busy Lake Shore Drive while crews tried to plow snow Tuesday night. City officials said that the move was temporary but that they might have to close it again if high winds push 25-foot waves from nearby Lake Michigan onto the roadway.
Everyone "should brace for a storm that will be remembered for a long time," said Jose Santiago, executive director of the city's office of emergency management.
Cities across middle America shut down hours ahead of the snow. Scores of schools, colleges and government offices canceled activities or decided not to open at all. Large sections of busy Midwest interstate highways were closed, and 9,000 flights had been canceled across the nation.
Advice to stay home was followed widely. Thousands of office workers in Chicago's downtown Loop district left early to avoid any transit troubles. Pete Donaghue, 49, a commodity trader, missed an early train before catching a 2:35 p.m. ride to suburban Wilmette.
"Big mistake," he said. "I'd be home right now, with my feet up, clicker in hand."
In Missouri, more than a foot of snow had fallen by midday, with no end in sight. For the first time in history, Missouri shut down Interstate 70 between St. Louis and Kansas City for a winter storm.
Meteorologist Jeff Johnson of the National Weather Service in Des Moines said the storm was sure to "cripple transportation for a couple of days." The snow and the wind were a dangerous combination, even in areas where not that much snow was expected.
"You don't want to get caught out in the rural areas in your vehicle in this storm. It's a good night to stay home," he said.
In state capitals across the Midwest and East, lawmakers cut short their workweek because of the storm. Normally bustling downtown streets were quiet, too. And many stores were closed, with signs on the windows blaming the weather.
Others didn't let the weather keep them from work. The bakery Chez Monet in downtown Jefferson City, Mo., was open, adding hot oatmeal for chilled customers. Owner Joan Fairfax said she rode to work without trouble. She wasn't sure about her ride home, but she said she could walk if necessary.
"I have never missed a day of work because of weather in 20 years," said Fairfax, 54.
The storm's leading edge slammed into Texas and Oklahoma after moving out of the Rockies.
Both of Oklahoma's major airports were closed. Outside Tulsa, at the Hard Rock Casino, the snow caused the partial collapse of a roof, but no injuries were reported.
In Texas, thousands of people lost electricity. Utility company Oncor reported nearly 27,000 customers without power statewide, with nearly half of the outages in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The storm was expected to roll into the Northeast on Wednesday, bringing still more snow to a winter-weary region. Towns that have been hit by several major snowstorms since December feared that they wouldn't have anywhere to put all the additional snow.
- Associated Press
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