A blizzard is a severe winter storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy blowing snow. A winter storm is an event in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are forms that only occur at cold Temperatures such as Snow or Temperature is a physical property of a system that underlies the common notions of hot and cold something that is hotter generally has the greater temperature Wind is the flow of Air or other Gases that compose an Atmosphere (including but not limited to the Earth's) "Snowfall" redirects here For other uses see Snow (disambiguation or Snowfall (disambiguation. 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. A high pressure area (also called a high or high-pressure is a region where the Atmospheric pressure is greater than surrounding areas A low pressure area, or " low " is a region where the Atmospheric pressure is lower in relation to the surrounding area The term blizzard is sometimes misused by news media to describe a large winter storm that does not actually satisfy official blizzard criteria. The news media refers to the section of the Mass media that focuses on presenting current News to the public

Geography

Even though some areas are more likely to experience blizzards than others, it is possible for a blizzard to occur in any location where there is snow and high winds. Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. The weather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given Atmosphere at a given Time. A season is one of the major divisions of the Year, generally based on yearly periodic changes in Weather. Spring is one of the four Temperate Seasons Spring marks the transition from Winter into Summer. Summer is one of the four Temperate Seasons Summer marks the warmest time of year with the longest days Autumn (also known as fall in North American English) is one of the four Temperate Seasons Autumn marks the transition from Summer Winter is one of the four Seasons of Temperate zones Calculated astronomically, it begins on the Solstice and ends on the Equinox The Tropics are centered on the Equator and limited in Latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately 23°26' (23 The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the Tropics. A wet season or rainy season is a Season in which the average Rainfall in a region is significantly increased A storm is any disturbed state of an astronomical body's atmosphere, especially affecting its surface and strongly implying Severe weather. A tornado is a violent rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a Cumulonimbus cloud or in rare cases the base of a Cumulus A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are a group of Cyclones defined as synoptic scale low A winter storm is an event in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are forms that only occur at cold Temperatures such as Snow or An ice storm is a type of Winter storm characterized by Freezing rain. In Meteorology, precipitation (also known as one class of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric Fog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground Stratus clouds are usually the only clouds that touch the ground Drizzle (also called mizzle) is light precipitation consisting of liquid water drops smaller than that of Rain, and generally smaller than 0 Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to Freezing rain is a type of precipitation that begins as Snow at higher altitude falling from a Cloud towards earth melts completely on its way down while passing Ice pellets are a form of precipitation consisting of small Translucent ice balls Hail is a form of precipitation which consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice (hailstones "Snowfall" redirects here For other uses see Snow (disambiguation or Snowfall (disambiguation. Graupel (also called snow pellets) refers to precipitation that forms when supercooled Droplets of Water condense on a Snowflake forming This is a list of meteorology topics. The terms relate to Meteorology, the Interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of Air pollution is the human introduction into the atmosphere of Chemicals Particulate matter, or Biological materials that cause harm or discomfort In North America, blizzards are particularly common to the extreme portions of the Northeastern United States, the Northern Great Plains in the United States, Atlantic Canada, and the Canadian Prairie Provinces. Blizzard conditions also occur frequently in the mountain ranges in western North America, however since these regions are sparsely populated they are often not reported.

Definition

Blizzards are associated with dangerous road conditions.

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 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. Environment Canada (EC, legally incorporated as the Department of the Environment under the Department of the Environment Act ( R This page is for the movie "Wind Chill" For the term see Wind chill. Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736 a German Physicist who proposed it in 1724

In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as sustained 35 mph (56 km/h) winds which leads to blowing snow and causes visibilities of ¼ mile or less, lasting for at least 3 hours. The National Weather Service ( NWS) once known as the Weather Bureau is one of the six scientific agencies that make up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Temperature is not taken into consideration when issuing a blizzard warning, but the nature of these storms are such that cold air is often present when the other criteria are met. This article describes the United States National Weather Service (NWS ^[1]

Other 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). The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For the UKMET model see Tropical cyclone forecast model. The Met Office (originally an abbreviation for Meteorological Office,

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. Meteorology (from Greek grc μετέωρος metéōros, "high in the sky" and grc -λογία -logia) is the Interdisciplinary Ground blizzard refers to a Weather condition where loose snow or ice on the ground is lifted and blown by strong 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.

The origin of the word "blizzard" is believed to be a German settler describing a storm to an Estherville, Iowa, newspaper reporter in Marshall, a small town in southwestern Minnesota. The German people (Deutsche are an Ethnic group, in the sense of sharing a common German culture, descent and speaking the German language as Estherville is a city in Emmet County, Iowa, United States. The population was 6656 at the 2000 census Marshall is a city in Lyon County, Minnesota in the United States. Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers ^[2]

Whiteouts

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. Whiteout is a Weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by Snow and diffuse lighting from overcast Clouds There are three An updraft or downdraft ( air pocket) is the vertical movement of Air as a Weather related phenomenon People caught in a whiteout can quickly become disoriented, losing their sense of direction. This poses an extreme risk to the aviation community when flying at the altitude of the storm or navigating an airport, severe ice accretion on the wings may also result. Aviation refers to activities involving man-made flying devices ( Aircraft) including the people organizations and regulatory bodies involved with them

Etymology

The Word 'Blizzard' was first used in 1870 during a severe snowstorm in Iowa and Minnesota, by an Estherville, Iowa newspaper. The word has its origins in boxing, referring to a volley of punches in Boxing. The word was first used by the USA signal corps weather service in 1876.

Notable blizzards

A snowbound locomotive, photographed on March 29, 1881, in western Minnesota. Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Year 1881 ( MDCCCLXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers

The Great Blizzard of 1888 paralyzed the Northeastern United States for several days. The Great Blizzard of 1888 ( March 11 – March 14 1888) was one of the most severe Blizzards in United States recorded history The Northeast is a region of the United States. As defined by the U In that blizzard, 400 people were killed, 200 ships were sunk, and snowdrifts towered 15 to 50 feet high. A ship /ʃɪp/ is a large vessel that floats on water Ships are generally distinguished from Boats based on size A snowdrift is a deposit of Snow created by Wind into a mound during Snowstorms They resemble Sand dunes and are formed in a similar manner Earlier that year, the Great Plains states were struck by the Schoolhouse Blizzard that left children trapped in schoolhouses and killed 235 people. The Great Plains are the broad expanse of Prairie and Steppe which lie east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada The Schoolhouse Blizzard, also known as the Schoolchildren's Blizzard or the Children's Blizzard, hit the U

The Armistice Day Blizzard in 1940 caught many people off guard with its rapid and extreme temperature change. The Armistice Day Blizzard (or the Armistice Day Storm) took place in the Midwest region of the United States on 11 November ( Armistice It was 60 °F 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. Hypothermia is a condition in which an organism's temperature drops below that required for normal Metabolism and bodily functions Altogether, 154 people died in the Armistice Day Blizzard. Unpredictable storms such as this one can come without much warning, causing damage and destruction to humans and infrastructure.

One hundred five years to the day (March 12) after the Great Blizzard of 1888, a massive blizzard, nicknamed the Storm of the Century, hit the U. Events 538 - Witiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving The Storm of the Century, also known as the ’93 Superstorm, No-Name Hurricane, the White Hurricane, or the ( Great) Blizzard S in 1993. It dropped snow over 26 states and reached as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. In many southern U.S. areas, such as parts of Alabama, more snow fell in this storm than ever fell in an entire winter. The Southern United States &mdashcommonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South &mdashconstitutes a large distinctive Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. Highways and airports were closed across the U. S. As a wider effect, the storm spawned 15 tornadoes in Florida. A tornado is a violent rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a Cumulonimbus cloud or in rare cases the base of a Cumulus Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the When the storm was over, it affected at least half of the U. S. population; 270 people died and 48 were reported missing at sea.

References

External links

• 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 Photos of huge U. S. snowstorms, plus blizzard survival info — all from AOL Research & Learn
• Environment Canada's definition of Blizzard
  • 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