Winter storms or Blizzard do not get the recognition that tornado, hurricane, or any other major natural disaster even though all sorts of destructive weather occurs during the winter, such as, Blizzards, nor'easters, ice jams and flooding. You need a few things to have a blizzard: cold air at the surface, moisture, and lift. Warm air must rise over cold air. To be consider a legitimate blizzard The National Weather Service say they must contain large amounts of snow or blowing snow, winds of 35 mph minim, and visibility of 1/4 mile or less for an extended period of time. When these conditions are favorable, The National Weather Service will issue a "Blizzard Warning". When only a couple conditions are predicted at separate times, a "Winter Storm Warning" or "Heavy Snow Warning" may be issued.
Many events may be large in scope and cover a wide geographical area, and if not, they still tend to devastate large areas with power outages, and freezing temperatures. Winter storms can range from a light snow over a few hours to a blizzard with blinding, wind-driven snow that lasts for several days. Many winter storms have large quantities of snow and extremely low and dangerous temperatures and are often accompanied by strong winds, icing, sleet and freezing rain. One of the primary concerns is the winter storm's ability to knock out heat, power and communications services to your home, sometimes for days, or even weeks at a time. Heavy snowfall and extreme cold can immobilize an entire region making daily life even impossible.
Unlike tropical systems, winter storms were not given names until 2011. Instead, they are called by the year, the date, the geographic region most affects, or some notable event related to the storm. one of the...
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... storm. That total equals the greatest snowfall in New York City recorded history and breaks a record that had been set in 1947.
The Buffalo Blizzard of 1977: A modest snowfall and brutal winds averaging 45 mph, with gusts of 75 mph would have made for a nasty storm at any time, but an unusually cold and snowy winter had left several feet of packed snow already on the ground. As if that were not bad enough, snow covered much of the frozen surface of nearby Lake Erie, giving the wind even more snow to drift and blow. The result was zero visibility and roads blocked by snow. The storm brought intense cold (the temperature dropped more than 20 degrees in just a few hours) and stranded people at work or, worse, in their cars. The conditions led to 29 deaths in Western New York and Southern Ontario. Storm effects were felt into Canada and as far east as Watertown, N.Y.
Early this February the states surrounding the great lakes in the northeast were pounded by lake-effect snow storms. Some areas saw more than four feet of snow. These states are accustomed to lake-effect snow storms, but it has been some time since they last saw one of this magnitude. Some areas saw up to 140 inches in less than twelve days. The storm was accountable for 35 deaths. (msn.com 2007)
National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, 1 Dec. 2009. Web. 19 Feb. 2010. .
Nearly 100 Kansans froze to death during the storm. Neither were the settlers prepared to protect their livestock. Cattle turned their tails to the wind and "drifted" for miles across the open range until they dropped from hunger or exhaustion. Losses were high, up to 75% in some areas, and consequently some large western Kansas cattle companies were bankrupted. Business and rail traffic were paralyzed for weeks. The force of eleven Union Pacific locomotives was unable to "buck" through and cut in the snow near ...
First, Collins uses hyperbole by repeating the word “snow” five times in one sentence: “Chicago’s snowfall was so huge that the news media ran out of things to attach to “snow” - thundersnow! snowpocalypse! snowmageddon!” (Collins). She consecutively uses three portmanteaus of the word "snow" with increasing stress level to create strong feelings. She wants to emphasize that Chicago is experiencing the most massive snowstorm in the United States, one of the consequences of global warming. This is a circumstance that causes people panic. She then reminds the readers about the blizzard of 1979 which made Mayor Michael Bilandic get “kicked out of office six weeks later in the Democratic primary.” It seems that she wants to make a connection between the congressman and a snow job.
When passing through the northeastern United States tropical cyclones are restructured by the course of extratropical transition. This is caused by the contact with strong westerlies that are associated with a mid latitude trough and causes an enhance in storm forward motion, vertical wind shear, and vorticity. An increase in storm forward motion also plays a role in the wind speed that is produced by the hurricane. Where the circulating winds and the entire storm is moving in a matching direction, the wind speed is amplified by the forward movement of the storm. In the Northern Hemisphere, the right part of a hurricane, looking in the way of the path in which it is moving forward, has the greater wind speeds and thus is the more dangerous part of the storm. Strong vertical wind shear within the troposphere also reduces tropical cyclone development. This makes the e...
September 8, 1900 was the day that the U.S. saw the greatest natural disaster they have ever seen. Causing approximately 6,000 to 8,000 deaths (about 20% of the population at the moment). Destroying thousands of homes and costing millions and millions to repair the U.S. had never seen anything like it before. The day of the storm a man by the name of Isaac M. Cline, who at the time was the chief of the U.S. weather
Harris, Richard. "Dust Storms Threaten Snow Packs." NPR : National Public Radio. Public Broadcasting Service, 30 May 2006. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
January 12, 1888, a blizzard covered the northwest part of North America that claimed many lives. This blizzard was considered to be the worst blizzard of all time, and was dubbed the “the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard”, for claiming the lives of so many school children on their way home. The death toll of this murderous blizzard rose, because of lack of preparation and being uninformed. During this time, many farmers and families were unprepared to survive a blizzard of this magnitude, by the lack of clothing they wore. Forecasters were not as accurate enough to inform people on the weather conditions. Also, shelter was a major factor in protecting themselves from the winter storms, but the shelter was not stable
(6) The suddenness of the winter storm caught people by surprise. A roar “like an approaching train” was all the warning the storm gave. (130) The roaring wind and snow brought darkness and dropping temperatures. The people who were inside when the blizzard struck faced a dilemma. Staying inside and doing nothing seemed “heartless,” but going into the storm “on a rescue mission was likely to be fatal to the rescuer and useless to the lost.” (143) The people who were unfortunate enough to be away from home, whether they were at school or working with their livestock, had to make a difficult decision. They could either risk trying to make it home or chance it out and stay where they were. Schoolteachers had to decide whether to send the children home or keep them at the school. If anyone ventured outside, he or she risked frostbite, hypothermia, and likely
Lake effect snow was not a quick discovery compared to other forms of weather. In the 1800’s when there was no satellites or weather radar to track a storm, early day forecasters would have to get observations from spotters across the country and provide a one and two day forecast on the type of weather that may ...
would snow up to depths of eight inches and sometimes it would rain and hail for
On January 12, 1888, the Children’s Blizzard hits part of the Northwest Plains. This blizzard is also known as the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard or Schoolhouse Blizzard (Potter). The name is associated with schoolchildren’s because it was mostly children trying to go back home, that froze to death along their way. It was such a beautiful day, just like one of those days someone would have in April, that no one would have suspected such a bitter snowstorm to come. The blizzard came when a cold, arctic wind from Canada met with the winds that came from the south. Everyone, including the kids, were dressed up with short sleeves. Just like how somebody would wear on a hot, spring day. The air from Canada carried heavy snow and harsh winds along with it, causing the hurricane (Blizzard Brings Tragedy to Northwest Plains). The Children’s Blizzard hit both of South and North Dakota (back then in 1888, it was one territory), Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, causing lots of heartbroken and unexpected deaths (McLeod).
Hurricanes are one of the deadliest and most expensive natural disasters around. They are more common in areas of humid yet moist weather so they are very foreign to certain places. But to the places were hurricanes are the norm, the people take them extremely seriously because they kill people and ruin countless amounts of property. Hurricanes can attack and harm people in so many ways they can kill people, leave them homeless, it leaves children orphaned and disable them. On the west coast of the United States and other places hurricanes aren’t taken as seriously as other more common disasters, such as, earthquakes and volcanoes yet the hurricane can be a lot more damaging that both of those. Hurricanes are cyclones that develop over warm oceans and breed winds that blow yup to 74 miles per hour.
The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger is an account of an immense storm and its destructive path through the North Atlantic. In late October of 1991, crews of several different fishing ships left their port for their final haul. Little did they know that they would soon cross paths with one of the greatest storms ever recorded. This particular storm would create huge swells, high winds, and hard rain. The system, was said to be a “perfect storm” because all of the elements were just right to create the worst imaginable storm ever seen, “… a hundred-year event,” claimed some meteorologists. These types of storms are caused when: “Warm air is less dense than cool air; it rises off the surface of the ocean, cools in the upper atmosphere, and then dumps its moisture before rushing back to earth. Huge cumulus clouds develop over the zones of rising air, with thunder, lightning, and terrifically strong rain. As long as there's a supply of warm water, the thunderstorm sustains itself, converting moisture into sheeting rain and downdraft winds. Other thunderclouds might line up along the leading edge of a cold front into a "squall line," a towering convective engine that stretches from horizon to horizon.” (The Perfect Storm Foundation)
The year was 1992; a cold December arctic wind had brought a chance of snow to the area. It was the weekend and time to relax after a long hard week at work. The weather service had predicted several inches of snow to blanket the region by the next day. Not to worry: it was the weekend and traveling was not a necessity.