Blizzard spreads snowy shroud over nearly half US

CHICAGO (AP) — A fearsome storm spread a smothering shroud of white over nearly half the nation Wednesday, snarling transportation from Oklahoma to New England, burying parts of the Midwest under 2 feet of snow and laying down dangerously heavy ice in the Northeast that was too much for some buildings to bear.

Tens of millions of people stayed home. The hardy few who ventured out faced howling winds that turned snowflakes into face–stinging needles. Chicago's 20.2 inches of snow was the city's third–largest amount on record. In New York's Central Park, the pathways resembled skating rinks.