A winter storm pummeled the United States from New Mexico, through Texas, the southeastern states, Midwest and east. Parts of more than 12 states were in the crosshairs of the storm. State authorities issued emergency protocols and requested that residents stay off the roads. Air and train travel was hindered in many areas.

Heavy snow expanded from the Rocky Mountains to New England. Ice build-up was the culprit on the storm’s southern edge from Texas to Central Pennsylvania, according to the National Weather Service. More than 100 million people were under some kind of winter-weather warning or advisories on Wednesday when the cold front was predicted to be moving eastward during the night.

Colorado was pummeled with heavy snow on Wednesday with some neighborhoods around Denver receiving 11-inches and areas near and including Colorado Springs were blanketed with 22-inches, the National Weather Service reported.

Sections of Missouri, Illinois, and Ohio were predicted for as much as 12 to 18-inches of snow through Thursday. Much of Illinois and Indiana had already been dusted with as much as 11-inches of snow by early Wednesday evening, reports the National Weather Service.

Some swaths of the Midwest was expecting near record snowfall. Moreover, freezing temperatures have been forecasted across the central U.S. into the weekend.

More than 2,100 flights in, into and out of the United States were canceled on Wednesday. The most affected airports were Chicago’s O’Hare, Detroit Metro and Denver airports, reports FlightAware.com. As many as 78 percent of flights in and out of Lambert-St. Louis International Airport were cancelled as of Wednesday afternoon.

If the snowfall reaches levels of 16-inches in Detroit, then it would rank as the fifth-largest snowstorm on record, according to the Weather Service.

Indianapolis was expecting between 6 and 12-inches of snow during the two-day weather event. Areas north of the city could receive as much as 12 to 18-inches.

Amtrak stopped some of its trains scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, including 14 routes in and out of Chicago and long-distance routes between Chicago and Washington, D.C., New York City and New Orleans.

February 2^nd is commonly set aside for Groundhog Day, when a ground hog named Punxsutawney Phil sees or doesn’t see his shadow, but the festivities had to share its impact with the storm, now named the groundhog day storm. By the way, Phil did see his shadow. So expect six more weeks of winter.

Governors tried to get ahead of the storm issuing emergency warnings on Tuesday and suggested that people stay off the roads.

This storm is the most significant one to strike the St. Louis area since early 2019, according to a meteorologist with the St. Louis office of the National Weather Service. The storm ravaged the city with snow, sleet and ice on Wednesday.

Snow fell at a rate of about 1-inch an hour in sections of Illinois on Wednesday morning. The heaviest of the snowfall was along Interstate 55, reported the National Weather Service in Chicago.

Officials in Texas braced for a combination of freezing rain, sleet and snow with as much as 7-inches of accumulation in regions in the northwest part of the state and in Central Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service warned that wind chills could be as low as minus 5 degrees Fahrenheit in Dallas and surrounding areas. Power outages were expected. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which controls the state’s power grid, claimed that it would meet the demand for power, according to Texas Governor Greg Abbot. Millions of Texas electric utility customers were left without power for days last winter threatening the lives of many residents.

It was not expected this time around that the frigid temperatures would be as bad as last year in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. However, ERCOT did issue a winter-weather watch through Sunday.

More than a foot of snow was forecast for Missouri to Maine by the time the storm ends later in the week. By Wednesday evening, locations had reported snow totals of more than or nearly a foot. Lewistown, a town in Central Illinois, had more than 14-inches and Hannibal in the northeastern section of Missouri had 11.5-inches. As much as 22-inches fell outside Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The storm is expected to end up in the Northeast region of the country on Friday. Most rain is expected in parts of the region. However, it may change to snow and ice as the storm reaches southern New England and the New York Tri-state region.

Ice is expected to be the issue in some of the southern states including Tennessee and Kentucky.

All regions impacted by the storm may leave a coating of ice that will threaten travel. Scattered power outage caused by broken tree limbs can be expected as far south as north-central Texas and into the Northeast, from Pennsylvania to New York City tri-state area into New England.

As of 12:30 p.m. east coast time, poweroutage.us reported the top areas of power outages to be:

• Tennessee 102,914
• Texas 69,414
• Arkansas 25,080
• Mississippi 7,757
• Ohio 4,832
• Illinois 4,231
• Virginia 4,105
• Kentucky 3,969
• Indiana 3,298
• New York 3,093
• Florida 3,023
• Louisiana 2,352

It’s been proven time and time again that no region of the United States is exempt from catastrophic weather or other natural events. When these occur residents are left without power and must endure freezing cold temperatures, relentless rain, snow, or tornadoes or sizzling heat. To assure that you and your family remain in comfort regardless of the catastrophe, you should consider adding a standalone generator to your home or business. APElectric has a wide assortment of generators from some of the most popular generator manufacturers in the country. Visit the company’s website to review their stock and learn how to choose the right generator for your particular situation.