[7][8] 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.

[10][11][12][13][14][15][16] Many other areas not normally used to extreme winter conditions, including Albuquerque, Dallas and Houston, experienced significant snowfall or ice accumulation.

Following the predominant jet pattern, the storm developed a very rapid forward trajectory and began to migrate toward the lower Great Lakes.

[34] Because the storm dumped some 40 centimetres (16 in) of snow in parts of Nova Scotia, and winds up to some 50 km/h (31 mph) to some areas in eastern Canada, schools and businesses were closed on Thursday morning, the 3rd of February.

[43] A traffic pile-up stretching three kilometres near Montreal, Quebec involving a school bus and many other vehicles sent 29 people to hospital for injuries.

[46] Wind speeds exceeding 50 km/h (31 mph) hit areas near Clarenville and Bonavista, while schools in eastern parts of St. John's were closed.

[53] On Wednesday, authorities in Juárez announced that convoys would be traveling out to remote regions and slum areas to ensure that citizens are warm and have the supplies they need to get through the next few days.

The West Rock Tunnel on the Wilbur Cross Parkway was closed for several hours due to accidents caused by slippery conditions, while service was disrupted on the Metro-North Railroad and at Bradley International Airport.

[57] By 4:30pm, CST (22:30 GMT), the storm reached blizzard status with sustained winds exceeding 35 miles per hour (56 km/h), with white-out conditions being reported by spotters in the Old Town neighborhood on the city's North Side.

[59] City officials said on February 2, that at least 900 cars and buses were stranded on Lake Shore Drive, with their drivers and passengers being trapped in some cases for as long as 12 hours (many drivers opting to stay with their cars in the false-fear of being ticketed for abandoning their vehicles instead of walking the short distance to the high-rise buildings lining the drive), but that closing the roadway earlier could have resulted in disastrous traffic conditions and possible accidents on other Chicago area streets.

[60] Tow trucks began pulling cars from Lake Shore Drive on the evening of February 2, and moving them into six temporary lots for motorists who abandoned their vehicles to arrive and claim.

[62] Heavy snow and high sustained winds gusting in excess of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h), caused rail switches to freeze on the CTA's Red Line and blew a portion of the roof off Wrigley Field.

[74][75] Flights from area airports were canceled, and local officials repeatedly urged residents not to travel, since because of the whiteout conditions, snow plows had been taken off the roads.

Five cardiac-related deaths from shoveling snow occurred in Lyons, Downers Grove, Mount Prospect, Carol Stream, and Glendale Heights.

[citation needed] Many local school districts canceled classes, the University of Missouri shut down for an unprecedented three successive days.

[92] On Thursday evening, Governor Susana Martinez declared a state of emergency across southern New Mexico, due to the steadily decreasing natural gas supply brought about by the catastrophic failure of the El Paso Electric Company's power grid.

[93] New York City received almost an inch of ice from freezing rain during the night of 1–2 February, causing public transportation on both bus routes and the Long Island Rail Road to be either delayed or shut down entirely.

[33] The heavy snowfall, along with sleet and some freezing rain, began developing over Oklahoma and the Texas panhandle on the evening of January 31, with a state of emergency declared by Governor Mary Fallin earlier that day.

There was no one injured as a result of the roof collapse as no people were in the affected area at the time; the hotel towers, a concert venue, a convention center, and retail operations at the complex were unaffected and remained open.

State Insurance Commissioner John Doak issued an emergency order to allow licensed claims adjustors outside of Oklahoma to help assess damages and losses from the storm for 90 days.

[108] That evening, President Barack Obama granted Fallin's federal emergency request, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate disaster relief efforts in the state of Oklahoma.

As a result of the storm, the university provided free tickets to fans who were able to attend the game at Gallagher-Iba Arena, which Oklahoma State won in a 76-70 upset against the #15 Tigers.

In Texas the storm caused widespread disruption of road and air traffic, including flights into and out of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Love Field.

Parts of Texas were expected to experience additional rolling blackouts Wednesday and Thursday as workers labor to get the electric systems back up and running.

[112] Throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, multiple large school districts were closed for a record-setting 5 days in a row, letting students out a whole week because of road hazards due to ice and snow.

[113] The storm adversely affected activities in the week leading up to Super Bowl XLV, which was played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

This resulted in the complete cancellation of activities at all area independent school districts and institutions of higher education on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and the following Monday.

That same Wednesday it was announced that federal and state officials would conduct an investigation into El Paso Electric as a result of the spectacular failure of the utility during the blizzard.

Parts of Texas and Louisiana east to the Mississippi Valley and Florida Panhandle experienced or were to experience rapid drops in temperature and flash freeze events after the squall line moved through.

[136] Many local and widespread power outages affected locations along the storm track, including in Illinois,[78] Ohio,[137][138][139] Oklahoma,[140] New Mexico,[141] Indiana,[142] Texas,[143] Colorado[144] and Kentucky.