blizzard

1. 1. A violent snowstorm with winds blowing at a minimum speed of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour and visibility of less than one-quarter mile (400 meters) for three hours.
   2. A very heavy snowstorm with high winds.
2. A torrent; a superabundance: a blizzard of phone calls.

[Perhaps of imitative origin.]

In frontier territory, blizzard was "a knock-down blow," delivered at first by a fist or gun rather than by the weather. It must have been in use by the mid-1820s. We encounter it in an 1829 glossary in the Virginia Literary Museum: "Blizzard. 'A violent blow,' perhaps from [German] Blitz, lightning. Kentucky." Whatever its origin, the word was familiar to frontiersman Davy Crockett, who wrote in his 1835 Tour Down East that at dinner, asked by a parson for a toast, "Not knowing whether he intended to have some fun at my expense, I concluded to go ahead and give him and his likes a blizzard." In this case it was a blizzard of words.

Blizzard went to college too. A writer in 1881 recalled, "In 1836 I first heard the word 'blizzard' among the young men at Illinois College, Jacksonville. If one struck a ball a severe blow in playing town-ball it would be said 'That's a blizzard.'"

Meanwhile, back on the frontier, blizzard began to be the term for the severe blow struck by a snowstorm. An 1862 book called Forty Years on the Frontier recorded this entry: "Snowed in the forenoon. Very cold in afternoon. Raw east wind. Everybody went to grand ball given by John Grant at Grantsville and a severe blizzard blew up and raged all night. We danced all night; no outside storm could dampen the festivities."

During the particularly severe winter of 1880-81, this kind of blizzard struck the whole country, as a writer in the Nation of New York City commented in 1881: "The hard weather has called into use a word which promises to become a national Americanism, namely 'blizzard.' It designates a storm (of snow and wind) which men cannot resist away from shelter." In general usage ever since, the blizzard of snow has knocked out the former meaning of mere human violence.

A strong wind (specified by the US Weather Bureau as over 50 kph) which whips up particles of ice and dry, powdery snow, reducing visibility to less than 200 m. The snow in a blizzard is not always falling, but is also carried up from snow on the ground.

Blizzards are defined by the National Weather Service as winter storms with sustained or gusting winds of 35 mph that produce blowing or drifting snow that reduces visibility to one-quarter mile or less for over three hours. While this is the technical definition of the word, for most people any sustained snowstorm accompanied by fierce winds is considered a blizzard. Blizzards are often, but not always, accompanied by extremely cold temperatures. They are most common in the Great Plains, the Great Lakes states, and the northeastern states along the coast, and less common in the Pacific Northwest.

The earliest European settlers in the colonies were stunned by the ferocity of North American blizzards. In 1717 a blizzard hit the eastern seaboard and was known as the "Great Snow" for more than a century. During this storm three to four feet of snow fell and harsh winds whipped it into twenty-five-foot drifts.

By the nineteenth century settlement had stretched westward, and settlers there were exposed to the howling winds and heavy snows of the prairie and plains areas. Railroads were frequently stalled by heavy snows. Food and fuel shortages could develop over time if a blizzard persisted for days on end. Fires were also a hazard in blizzards as stoves were overworked and water lines froze, preventing effective fire suppression. Telegraph, electric, and phone lines could be toppled. And the new suspension bridges could collapse under the heavy load of snow and ice.

Major blizzards racked the nation during the nineteenth century. In October of 1846 a blizzard struck northern California. Over eight days, heavy snows resulted in forty-foot drifts over Truckee Pass. The Donner Party of eighty-seven was trapped on the mountain, and when spring finally came in April of that year only forty-seven made their way back down. Cannibalism was reported here and elsewhere during blizzards in isolated western regions. In 1873 a major blizzard struck the northern Great Plains, leaving at least seventy people dead and paralyzing the railroad system for much of the winter.

In January of 1888 a blizzard struck the Great Plains, with deep snow and rapidly falling temperatures. The thermometer dropped sixty degrees in eighteen hours. Many of the 200 dead were children trying to make their way home from school. Later that year came the "Blizzard of '88." This storm still warrants inclusion in many history books for its sheer size and ferocity. From the Chesapeake Bay to Nantucket nearly 200 ships were damaged or destroyed. Then, from 10 to 14 March, the eastern seaboard was pummeled. From two to four feet of snow fell over three days across much of the region. Freezing temperatures were accompanied by wind gusts of over 70 mph across New York City. The snow drifted more than twenty feet deep, covering vehicles and even the first floors of some New York City structures. People in the city were trapped in elevated cars, stores, trains, and offices. In Connecticut and Massachusetts, forty to fifty inches of snow fell and formed drifts up to fifty feet deep. Entire houses and trains were buried. At the end of the storm more than 400 people had died.

By the twentieth century new technologies helped people deal with the consequences of blizzards. Massive plows could be attached to locomotives or trucks. Telegraphs and phones could be used to report approaching blizzard conditions. And by later in the century, sophisticated weather tracking and warning systems were in place. In Washington, D.C., from 27 to 29 January 1922, a winter storm buffeted the city, leaving nearly two feet of snow. It became known as the "Knickerbocker Storm" because the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapsed, killing nearly 100 inside. In 1941, March started out warm in the upper Midwest, and duck hunters took to the lakes when the season opened. But on 15 March a sudden blizzard whipped up and more than seventy died in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. A famous blizzard struck Chicago in 1967 when a series of strong storms struck at the western edge of Lake Michigan. It began on 26 January, and by the next day two feet of snow covered the city. It took two weeks to clear the snow; during that time sixty people died and the city experienced heavy looting.

In the late twentieth century two major storm periods racked the nation. The "Superstorm of 1993" (some called it the "Blizzard of the Century") arrived in March of that year involving nearly two-thirds of the entire nation and setting snowfall records across the eastern seaboard. Blizzard conditions existed from Alabama to Massachusetts, where some termed the storm a "white hurricane." To the west lay a vast track of thunderstorms, tornadoes, and floods. At least ninety-two died in the series of storms. In 1996 came another "Blizzard of the Century," blasting the snowfall records set in 1993. The storm came in three major parts, again affecting nearly two-thirds of the continental United States. It began in the southeast, striking from 6 to 8 January. As it moved north, it left more than four feet of snow in places like Virginia, a record snowfall. Nearly three feet of snow fell in Pennsylvania and two feet in parts of New York and New Jersey. Nine states were virtually paralyzed, and more than 100 people died. A week later, 11–13 January, another storm rocked the northeast. The following week, 17–18 January, a major blizzard struck the central and northern plains.

Yet another season of major winter storms and blizzards arrived the next November, beginning with massive ice storms. Blizzards struck some areas of the Great Plains and Great Lakes two times a week in a repeated pattern that left record snow amounts of two to three feet per blizzard. Winter temperatures reached minus eighty degrees with wind chills. Total snowfall in some Great Plains and Great Lakes areas exceeded 100 inches. The fall and winter storms left a season of disastrous flooding from the Red River of the north to parts of the Upper Mississippi.

Bibliography

Cable, Mary. The Blizzard of '88. New York: Atheneum, 1988.

—Polly Fry

This article is about the winter storm condition. For other uses, see Blizzard (disambiguation).

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A blizzard (or winter hurricane) is a severe winter storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy blowing snow. Blizzards are formed when a high pressure system, also known as a ridge, interacts with a low pressure system; this results in the advection of air from the high pressure zone into the low pressure area.

Contents 1 Definition 2 Whiteouts 3 Economic impact of blizzards 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Definition

According to Environment Canada, a winter storm must have winds of 40 km/h (25 mph) or more, have snow or blowing snow, visibility less than 500 ft (about ¹⁄₁₀ mile), a wind chill of less than −25 °C (−15 °F), and that all of these conditions must last for 3 hours or more before the storm can be properly called a blizzard.

In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as sustained 35mph (56 km/h) winds which lead to blowing snow and cause visibilities of 500ft or less, lasting for at least 3 hours. Temperature is not taken into consideration when issuing a blizzard warning, but the nature of these storms is such that cold air is often present when the other criteria are met.^[1] . Temperatures are generally below 0 °C (32 °F).

Many European countries, such as the UK, have a lower threshold: the Met Office defines a blizzard as "moderate or heavy snow" combined with a mean wind speed of 30 mph (48 km/h) and visibility below 650 feet (200 m).

When there are blizzard conditions but no snow falling, meteorologists call this a ground blizzard because all the snow is already present at the surface of the earth and is simply being blown by high winds. Ground blizzards require large expanses of open and relatively flat land with a sufficient amount of accumulated and loosely packed, powdery snow to be blown around.

Whiteouts

Although the word is commonly used to describe heavy snow and high winds, this is not a true "whiteout". Real "whiteouts" occur mostly in the Arctic and Antarctic during the spring, when snow is still deep on the ground and there is lots of daylight and surprisingly calm weather and excellent visibility. Whiteouts occur when rays of sunlight are bounced in all directions between bright white clouds, especially a thin layer of overcast and bright snow or ice. Clean snow and ice reflects nearly 85% of incoming light. Falling snowflakes, suspended fog droplets or ice particles in the air would make conditions even worse. In a true whiteout, neither shadows, nearby objects, landmarks, nor are clouds discernible. All sense of direction, depth perception and even of balance may be lost. Land and sky seem to blend, and the horizon disappears into a white nothingness. Whiteouts trick pilots and travelers into believing down is up and thinking far is near.

Economic impact of blizzards

Like all severe weather events such as hurricanes, droughts and floods, blizzards can be disruptive to local economies. This is especially the case when blizzards hit in localities in generally warmer climates where snowfall is infrequent. In cities that do not have snow removal equipment, traffic and commerce can be brought to a stand still for days and in some cases weeks. The economic impact ranges across industries, from lost productivity in companies because people cannot get to work, parents must stay home with children due to school closings, airport closures, product delivery delays and the actual cost of snow removal.^[2]

See also

• Great Blizzard of 1888
• Halloween Blizzard
• Lake effect blizzard
• Saskatchewan blizzard of 2007
• Schoolhouse Blizzard

References

1. ^ NOAA - National Weather Service
2. ^ [1]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blizzard

• Dr Richard Wild Website dedicated to the history, news and facts about heavy snow and blizzards.
• Digital Snow Museum Photos of historic blizzards and snowstorms.
• Blizzards Photo Gallery
• Environment Canada's definition of Blizzard
• Farmers Almanac List of Worst Blizzards
• Severe Winter Weather Events Excerpts from The Canadian Weather Trivia Calendar
• http://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm
• http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4912

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - snestorm

Nederlands (Dutch)
sneeuwstorm, grote toestroom

Français (French)
n. - blizzard, tempête de neige

Deutsch (German)
n. - Blizzard, Schneetreiben

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χιονοθύελλα

Italiano (Italian)
tormenta

Português (Portuguese)
n. - nevasca (f)

Русский (Russian)
буран, пурга, вьюга

Español (Spanish)
n. - ventisca

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - (häftig) snöstorm

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
大风雪, 暴风雪

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 大風雪, 暴風雪

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 눈보라

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 大吹雪, ブリザード

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) عاصفه ثلجيه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮סופת-שלג עזה‬

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