At one point earlier this winter, 49 states in the U.S. were at least partially covered in snow (all except Florida). With much of North America walloped by a series of blizzards and smaller snowstorms, snow was being measured in feet, not inches, stranding travelers and damaging structures. Along with the challenges it delivers, winter also brings inspiration - to those who would use snow and ice as an art medium, a playground, or as a source of beauty or serenity. Gathered here are recent images of winter and its impact here in the Northern Hemisphere.
Wintry Weather
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Cars are buried as a woman tries to clear her windshield Wednesday, February 2, 2011, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The area was under a blizzard warning and some freeways were shut down. #
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A visitor walks through an ice sculpture, created by covering ice on pine trees, at Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival in Chitose, on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido February 4, 2011. The ice sculpture festival, in which creations are created by spraying water pumped from Lake Shikotsu, is held until February 13. #
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John Strenio of the USA practices before the start of the Slope Style finals for the FIS Freestyle World Championships at Park City Mountain Resort on February 3, 2011 in Park City, Utah. #
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Dana McDougal-Pellegrine takes a photo of the ice covered "Mustangs of Las Colinas", the world's largest horse sculpture of the nine mustangs galloping across real water, in Irving, Texas February 5, 2011. #
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Bradley senior Chris Grandon digs a snow fort out of a 12-foot pile of snow on Wednesday, February 2, 2011, at the Bradley University campus in Peoria, Illinois. 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, halting air traffic and giving many schoolchildren their first ever snow day Wednesday. #
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People stand around an ice hole on the Buzim Lake during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations near the village of Sukhobuzimo, about 70 km (43 miles) north of Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, January 19, 2011. Orthodox Christians celebrate the religious holiday of Epiphany according to the Gregorian calendar on January 19. The air temperature stood at about -29 degrees Celcius (-20.2 degrees Fahrenheit). #
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A fine snow covers 11-year-old Victor Fesenmeyer's ski mask while he takes a break from sledding down the hill behind Lincoln Elementary School February 2, 2011 in Iowa City, Iowa. Almost 20 inches of snow fell in parts of the Midwest as the National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for southeastern Iowa and much of Illinois. #
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In this Thursday, February 3, 2011 photo, the Illinois Central Railroad uses a wedge snow plow and two locomotives to clear its rail line between Clinton and Gilman, in Gibson City, Illinois. #
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An ice sculpture of a dinosaur is illuminated at the 62nd Sapporo snow festival in Sapporo, on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido February 7, 2011. About 250 snow and ice sculptures are exhibited in this, one of Japan's most popular winter events. #
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A man looks on after emerging from icy waters during Orthodox Epiphany celebrations on the Mana river, with the air temperature at about minus 31 degrees Celsius near the village of Ust-Mana, 31 km (19 miles) south of Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on January 19, 2011. #
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Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada practices during a training session for the women's moguls for the FIS Freestyle World Ski Championships at Deer Valley Resort on February 1, 2011 in Park City, Utah. #
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Workers use heavy equipment to create a mountain of snow collected from surrounding parking lots at Shoppers World in Framingham, Massachusetts on Friday, January 28, 2011. #
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On February 4th, 2011, Dorothea Linke from Oederan, Germany works on a sculpture titled "Scandinavian Troll" during the 15th snowsculpture competition at the Neuhermsdorf im Osterzgebirge, in southeastern Germany. #
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Visitors look at an illuminated snow sculpture of Japan's national treasure "Hiunkaku of Hongwanji" at the 62nd Sapporo snow festival in Sapporo, on Japan's northern island of Hokkaido February 7, 2011. #
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Skaters enjoy the annual "Wiener Eistraum" (Vienna ice dream) ice rink built at the city hall square next to Burgtheater theatre in Vienna, Austria on January 21, 2011. The "Wiener Eistraum" is open to the public until March 6, 2011. #
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In this February 4, 2011 photo, chairs are placed to mark parking spots for those who shoveled snow off in Chicago, Illinois. A blizzard that dumped nearly 2 feet of snow has revived a longstanding Chicago tradition: Break out the patio furniture. Or, if none is available, suitcases, garbage cans, strollers, bar stools and milk crates work, too. #
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Sergey Kaunov, a member of a local winter swimmers' club, carries his bride Irina Kuzmenko out of water as they celebrate their wedding on the bank of Yenisey River where the air temperature was about -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degree Fahrenheit) in the Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk on January 22, 2011. Irina does not normally practice winter bathing, but she did it on the day of their wedding after heating up in a sauna. #
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The headlight of a musher traces a line during a long-exposre photograph taken during the tenth stage of La Grande Odyssee sled dog race in Mont Cenis, France on January 18, 2011. The race crosses the Alps in France and Switzerland covering over 1000 km (621 miles) over 11 days. #
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In this photo taken Wednesday, January 26, 2011, a Japanese macaque grooms another while bathing at the hot spring pool of Jigokudani Monkey Park in the mountains of Yamanouchi town, Nagano, central Japan, Thursday, January 27, 2011. About 160 macaques, known as "snow monkeys," inhabit the park. #
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