Blizzard
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Blizzards are characterized by high winds and blinding precipitation |
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Sudden blizzards can cause terrible damage to infrastructure as well as danger to human life. |
A
blizzard is a severe
winter storm condition characterized by low
temperatures, strong
winds, and heavy
snow. They are caused when a high pressure area meets a low pressure area.
Because the factors involving classification of winter storms are complex, there are many different definitions of blizzard. A major consensus is that in order to be classified as a blizzard, as opposed to merely a
winter storm, the weather must meet several conditions: The storm must decrease visibility to a quarter of a mile or 400 meters for three consecutive hours, include snow or ice as precipitation, and have wind speeds of at least 35 miles per hour or 56 kilometres per hour (which would be seven or more on the
Beaufort Wind Scale).
Another standard, according to
Environment Canada, is that the winter storm must have winds of 40 km/h (25 mph) or more, have snow or blowing snow, visibility less than 1 km (about
5⁄8 mile), a
wind chill of less than −25 °C (−13 °F), and that all of these conditions must last for 4 hours or more before the storm can be properly called a blizzard.
When all of these conditions persist after snow has stopped falling, meteorologists refer to the storm as a
ground blizzard.
An extreme form of blizzard is a
whiteout, when
downdrafts coupled with snowfall become so severe that it is impossible to distinguish the ground from the air. People caught in a whiteout can quickly become disoriented, losing their sense of direction. This poses difficulty for
aviation flying at the altitude of the storm.
The word
blizzard is of unknown origin, but may originate from the
surname Blizzard. It was first widely used after the great
United States winter storm now known as the "Blizzard of
1880."
Severe blizzards can occur in conjunction with
polar cyclones.
Certain types of blizzards in the northeastern United States are colloquially known as
Nor'easters. In the
Upper Midwest, a northerly weather pattern deemed likely to produce blizzards is called an
Alberta clipper.
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Graph comparing the cost of damage of several famous U.S. Blizzards |
There have been many devastating blizzards throughout U.S. History.
It is not uncommon for a region of the United States or North America to be struck by two devastating winter storms in one season. The
Blizzard of 1888 paralyzed the
Northeastern United States. In this blizzard, 400 people were killed, 200
ships were sunk, and
snowdrifts towered 15 to 50 feet high. Earlier that year, the
Great Plains states were struck by the
Schoolhouse Blizzard that left children trapped in schoolhouses and killed 235 people.
These unpredictable storms can come without much warning, causing damage and destruction to humans and infrastructure. The
Armistice Day Blizzard in
1940 caught many people off guard with its rapid and extreme temperature change. It was 60 degrees
Fahrenheit in the morning, but by noon, it was snowing heavily. Some of those caught unprepared died by
freezing to death in the
snow and some while trapped in their cars. Altogether, 154 people died in the Armistice Day Blizzard.
One-hundred five years to the day (March 12) after the blizzard of 1888, a massive blizzard, nicknamed the
Storm of the Century, hit the U.S in 1993. It dropped snow over 26 states and reached as far north as
Canada and as far south as
Mexico. In many southern U.S. areas, such as parts of
Alabama, more snow fell in this storm than ever fell in an entire winter. Highways and airports were closed across the U.S. As a wider effect, the storm spawned 15
tornadoes in
Florida. When the Storm of the Century was over, it affected at least half the of U.S. population; 270 people died and 48 were reported missing at sea.
*The
Schoolchildren's Blizzard*The
Blizzard of 1888*The
Blizzard of '77*The
Blizzard of 1978*The
1993 North American Storm Complex*
The 1996 Blizzard*The
Blizzard of 2005*The
Blizzard of 2006*
:Category:Blizzards*
Natural Disasters – Blizzards Great research site for kids.
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Dr Richard Wild – Heavy Snow, Blizzards, Snowstorms and Snowfall Site Online home of Dr Richard Wild. Site includes history and news of heavy snow, blizzards, snowstorms, snow pictures, snow data and other historical snowfalls and blizzard related topics.
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Digital Snow Museum Photos of historic blizzards and snowstorms.
