Blizzard
New Haven, Conn.
A neighborhood near New Haven, Conn., is buried in snow in the aftermath of a storm that hit Connecticut and much of New England. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Above: Images from Winter Storm Nemo in February 2013.
It's quite fitting that this word's roots are from a portion of the country where they hit the most often. An Iowa newspaper in the 1870s used "blizzard" to describe a snowstorm. The word stuck and was used commonly by the 1880s across the United States and England. Blizzard originally referred to a cannon shot or a volley of musket fire.
In Russian Asia, the words buran and purga are used to describe the same phenomenom. Blizzard is also used to describe strong, autumnal winds off the ice cap in the Antarctic.
Sources: National Weather Service-Flagstaff, Ariz./AMS glossary
- Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 7
- Next Page
