Blizzard

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For the software company, see Blizzard Entertainment.

A blizzard is a severe weather condition characterized by low temperatures and strong winds (greater than 35 mph) bearing a great amount of snow, either falling or blowing.

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 for three consecutive hours, include snow or ice as precipitation, and have wind speeds of at least 32 mph (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 or more, have snow or blowing snow, visibility less than 1 km, a wind chill of less than -25 degrees Celsius, and 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.

Severe blizzards can occur in conjunction with arctic cyclones.

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.

The word blizzard is of unknown origin, but may originate from the surname Blizzard. It was first widely used after the great American winter storm now known as the "Blizzard of 1880." [1]

Certain types of blizzards in the northeastern United States are colloquially known as Nor'easters.

See also

• The Schoolchildren's Nor'Easter
• The Nor'easter of 1888
• The Nor' Easter of '77
• The Nor'easter of 1978
• The 1993 North American Storm Complex
• The Nor'Easter of 1996
• The Nor'Easter of 2005
• Category:Blizzards