Blizzard

__**CAUSE**__: Blizzards are severe winter storms that pack a combination of blowing snow and wind resulting in very low visibilities. While heavy snowfalls and severe cold often accompany blizzards, they are not required. Sometimes strong winds pick up snow that has already fallen, creating a blizzard. Officially, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as large amounts of falling OR blowing snow with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 of a mile for an extended period of time (greater than 3 hours). When these conditions are expected, the National Weather Service may issue a "Blizzard Warning". When a less severe, but still dangerous, winter storm is expected a "Winter storm Watch" or "Winter storm Warning" may be issued. A "Winter storm Watch" is issued in advance and means that there is the possibility of a winter storm affecting your area. Keep alert and stay tuned to TV, radio, and other sources of weather information. A "Winter storm Warning" means a winter storm is imminent or already occurring.

__**HISTORY**__: The most famous snowstorm in American history, the Blizzard of 1888, has acquired an almost legendary status.Although there have been many [|heavier snowfalls] as well as significantly [|lower temperatures], the blizzard's combination of inclement conditions has been unmatched in more than a century. The U.S. Weather Service defines a blizzard as a storm with winds of more than 35 miles an hour and snow that limits visibility to 500 feet or less. A severe blizzard is defined as having winds exceeding 45 miles an hour, visibility of a quarter mile or less, and temperatures of 10 degrees F or lower.The "Great White Hurricane," as it was called, paralyzed the East Coast from the [|Chesapeake Bay] to Maine. [|Telegraph] and telephone wires snapped, isolating New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington for days. Two hundred ships were grounded, and at least one hundred seamen died. Fire stations were immobilized, and property loss from fire alone was estimated at $25 million. Overall, more than 400 deaths were reported.The days leading up to the blizzard were unseasonably mild, with temperatures in the 40s and 50s along the East Coast. Torrential rains began falling, and on March 12th the rain changed to heavy snow, temperatures plunged, and a ferocious wind began. The storm continued unabated for the next 36 hours. Sources vary, but National Weather service estimated that fifty inches of snow fell in Connecticut and Massachusetts and forty inches covered New York and New Jersey. Winds blew up to 48 miles an hour, creating snowdrifts forty to fifty feet high. The resulting transportation crisis led to the creation of the New York [|subway], approved in 1894 and begun in 1900.

media type="custom" key="63742" __**WEATHER**__: the weather has to be windy and very cold.It has to be cold to make the snow and very windy to pick up the snow.I think durring the snow storm the temperature would drop.I am not shure how much the temperature will drop.this link will tell you more. [|blizzards].there are many warnings the blizard warning is simply called blizzard warnings.they will start a blizzard warning if threre is so much snow that you cant see anything.I f you are caught in a storm you should find shelter immediately. the wind speed can go from 1/4 to 35mph. every minute you spend out in the blizzard you risk your life.In the southern central Great Plains, rapidly intensifying low pressure systems moving out of the Rocky Mountains can cause heavy snows and strong winds to the north, while to the south and east are thunderstorms and rain.When cold, moist air from the Pacific Ocean makes it over the Rockies and into the Plains and warmer, moist air moves north from the Gulf of Mexico, all that is needed is a cold closed low aloft and a strong polar jet for potential blizzard conditions that may extend from the panhandle of Texas to the Great Lakes. A severe weather condition characterized by low temperatures, winds 35 mph or greater, and sufficient falling and/or blowing snow in the air to frequently reduce visibility to 1/4 mile or less for a duration of at least 3 hours. A severe blizzard is characterized by temperatures near or below 10Â°F, winds exceeding 45 mph, and visibility reduced by snow to near zero.

__**THE EFFECTS OF A BLIZZARD:**__ Heavy snow can linger for weeks after the snow has fallen. The weight of the snow can contribute to the collapse of roofs. Rapid snow melting can cause ice on frozen streams and rivers to break into chunks, and form ice. Ice jams can cause flooding. • You could be getting sick after a blizzard because of the awfully cold weather and the wet weather too. You might not have a home after a blizzard because the hard wind might have knocked it down. You could have broken a leg or arm. You could have also lost your eye sight. Trees fall down and sometimes even homes get destroyed.On average, 1 inch of rain equals 10 inches of snow. The colder the weather, the more snow.A shovel full of snow can weigh about 7 pounds, not counting the shovel.About 100 million tons of snow fell in New York City, 20 million tons in Philadelphia.In much of the Northeast, a homeowner had to shovel an estimated 4 tons of snow to clear a 20-by-20-foot driveway.From 300 to 500 pounds of rock salt are needed to cover one lane for one mile. A large Northeastern snowstorm, a not uncommon event for this time of year, was converted into a "vicious, wanton force of death and destruction" by the nation's headline writers upon reports that a New England man had died during the storm. Ernie Shackleton, 101, of Lowell, Massachusetts, suffered an apparent heart attack while watching a Weather Channel reporter stick a yardstick in a snow drift, say "Wooo-ee it's cold!" and be laughingly admonished by the studio anchors to "get inside before you freeze your ears off." Shackleton's niece, Nan Nook North, said, "Uncle Ernie yelled something at the tv like, 'This ain't nothin', ya sissies, I used to hike 30 miles to the textile mills with drifts up to my eyeballs and tar paper strapped to my feet for boots,' and then he just keeled over."Upon hearing of Shackleton's death, grateful media outlets nationwide immediately slipped the word "killer" into their stories about the storm, regardless of any actual deaths that might have occurred in their local areas. Typical was the headline in the Ocala, Florida, Times-Heathen ("Vacationers Curse Effects of Killer Blizzard as Temperature Plunges to 41") and the headline in the Pawnee, Indiana, Post-Partum ("Remnant of Killer Blizzard Dumps 3 Inches; Tsunami Relief Benefit Cancelled").Later in the day, an updated report indicated that Shackleton had not died but had only been suffering from a recurring bout of apoplectic narcolepsy. Panicked media representatives quickly cast about to find other deaths that the storm could be linked to, leading an editor for News 4 in Columbus, Ohio, to desperately ask a colleague, "Er, do you think Carson might have been trying to push a car out of a drift?"