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What is a Blizzard? | Winter Science | Weather Science | SciShow Kids

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A blizzard is a severe snowstorm. It brings low temperatures, strong winds, and a lot of blowing snow. Blizzards start when a high pressure system touches a low pressure system.

The word blizzard is sometimes used incorrectly by news media to talk about big winter storms, even if the storm is not a blizzard.

The difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind, not the amount of snow. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have sustained winds or frequent gusts that are greater than or equal to 56 km/h (35 mph) with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 m or 0.25 mi or less and must last for a prolonged period of time-typically three hours or more.

Some areas are more likely to be hit by blizzards than others, but a blizzard can occur in any place where snow falls. In North America, blizzards happen often in the northern-east states, and in the provinces of Canada. In this region, blizzards can happen more than twice each winter.

They also occur often in the mountain ranges of western North America. Because these regions have low populations, blizzards sometimes are not reported.

A very dangerous type of blizzard is a whiteout. In a whiteout, downdrafts and snowfall are so thick that people cannot tell the ground and sky apart. People caught in a whiteout lose their sense of direction very fast. This is a large danger to pilots when they are flying airplanes, because they cannot tell how close they are to the ground, and may crash.

Who cleans up after blizzards?

The community cleans up after a snowstorm/blizzard occurs. Blizzards only usually go for 3 hours so everything won't be too damaged, meaning it won't be as hard as an earthquake or tsunami to clean.

How deep the snow gets

These horrible blizzards can achieve up to 25-30 feet deep. A basketball hoop is 10 ft high, so a blizzard can get snow as deep as the height of two or three hoops.

How do blizzards occur?

Firstly you need cold enough air to cause snow to fall in the clouds and ground level water and moisture is needed to form clouds and precipitation. The moisture is called water vapour to make the clouds a source of water vapour is cold air blowing across large lakes or the sea but the cold air doesn't actually make too much snow, its a combination of cold and warm air that does it. The warm air normally meets the cold air if the wind is being pulled towards the equator when they are brought together a front is formed and precipitation is formed and the warm air can go up to the clouds and the blizzard forms from there.

How strong are a blizzard's winds?

There is sustained wind or frequent gusts of 35 miles per hour or greater.

How cold can blizzards get?

Blizzards can get down to -12 degrees or lower. This makes it fairly easy to get hypothermia in a blizzard. Mostly freezing electrics and machinery making life very hard in the Hypothermic temperatures.

A blizzard brings strong winds that can cause power outages, damage property and disrupt emergency communication. As a result, people can end up without food and water supply.

Blizzards are dangerous as they may lead to injuries and even deaths on the road due to low visibility.

You should avoid being caught outdoors in a blizzard as skin left exposed to such severe conditions could lose all sensitivity within minutes. As a result, you can suffer from hypothermia and frostbite. In extreme cases it may lead to death.

Blizzards may negatively affect the environment, killing plants and animals that other species rely on in their food chain. This forces some animals to find alternative means of getting food or die if food is scarce.

Blizzards impact accumulation of water vapor in the atmosphere, which then leads to greater precipitation throughout the year.

Famous U.S. blizzards

The Great Blizzard of 1888 was very damaging for the Northeastern United States. In that blizzard, 400 people died, 200 ships sunk, and snowdrifts were 10 or 15 feet high. In the Great Plains, states were hit by the Schoolhouse Blizzard that trapped children in schools and killed 235 people.

In 1880-1881 there was a winter that people in the Dakotas called the "Hard Winter". The author Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote her book The Long Winter about that winter's story. It talks about one blizzard after another, and how it changed Laura's family and everybody around her. The book is almost all true. Her story of two men from the town of DeSmet, South Dakota, going after some wheat stored some miles south of DeSmet in February 1881 is true, and Ingalls later married one of the men, Almanzo Wilder. If the two men had not found and brought back the wheat, the people would have starved. The snow and ice thawed in April, and the railroads could start again. The train picture above was photographed on March 29, 1881, not far from DeSmet.

34 people died during a 3-day spring blizzard on March 1920 in North Dakota. One of the people who died was Hazel Miner, a teenage girl who died of freezing to death when she got lost on her way home from her one-room-school.

The Armistice Day Blizzard in 1940 surprised many people with how fast the temperature dropped. It was 60 °F (15.6 °C) in the morning, but by noon, it was snowing. Some of the people froze to death in the snow. 154 people died in the Armistice Day Blizzard.

105 years after the Great Blizzard of 1888, a giant blizzard, named the Storm of the Century, hit the U.S in 1993. It dropped snow on 26 states and reached as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico. In many southern U.S. areas, such as parts of Alabama, more snow fell in this storm than ever fell in an entire winter. Highways and airports closed across the U.S. The blizzard also made 15 tornadoes in Florida. When the storm was over, 270 people died and 48 were reported missing.

Other famous blizzards

Related pages

Images for kids

Blizzard into Tochal Skiing resort, Tehran and involved skiers.

Conditions approaching a blizzard whiteout in Minnesota, on March 1, 2007. Note the unclear horizon near the center.

Stereoscopic view card showing "Blasting ice with dynamite from in front of steamer on the ways, by Stanley J. Morrow" ~ A view of Yankton's riverfront after the flood of March 1881.

In Spanish: Ventisca para niños

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Hit By a Dust Storm | National Geographic

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A sandstorm is caused when there is lots and lots of wind. The wind whips up heaps of sand as if my magic with it and carries it away with it for miles and miles. They can be quite something to see.

The clouds that carry the dust can be huge, and miles long. They can rise to be over 10,000 feet (305m). They also have wind speeds of at least 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers).

Sandstorms can happen really quickly. One minute they're not there, and the next minute they're right next to you!

If you get caught in a sandstorm you'll certainly be covered in sand and debris from head to toe. You won't be able to see a thing as it gets in your eyes, your ears and your mouth too. Doesn't sound too cool does it? Try and cover your mouth and eyes as much as you can.

Where Do You Find Sandstorms?

You'll mostly find them in dry and hot regions, for example like the Sahara Desert. If you're ever there, keep a sharp lookout and run if you see one coming! You want to be covered in dust.

You can also find them in the US, especially in dry and flat regions like Kansas and Oklahoma.

In these areas, there is lots of farming going on. So what does that mean? Well there is more bare earth for the wind to whip up and take it along its journey.

Interesting Facts about Sandstorms

Did you know that sandstorms can really hurt and even kill people? That's quite scary. It is the number 3 weather condition that can cause serious harm to people in the US.

They are also called 'haboobs' in the US, which comes from the Arabic word 'hab' which means 'wind.'

They mostly occur during summer, but also in spring too in the US.

Sandstorms life the topsoil off the land. Topsoil is extremely important for crops to grow, so a sandstorm can cause lots of damage.

This is amazing. Dust all the way from the Sahara Desert is blown across the Atlantic Ocean. What happens next? Well Miami get some pretty awesome red sunrises and sunsets. But it doesn't stop there; it keeps going as far as the Caribbean and the Amazon Basin. That is one serious sandstorm.

During the 1960s there were eight sandstorms that caused some serious damage; 13 more in the 1970s; 14 in the 80s and more than 20 in the 1990s. Australia was having problems with sandstorms. Apparently they cost Australia about $20 million a year in medical bills because of asthma and respiratory disease which is thought to be caused by sandstorms.

So, now you know all about sandstorms! It certainly wouldn't be fun to be caught in one of these, would it?

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Sandstorm Facts (Earth Science For Kids) in [year]

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Sandstorm Facts For Kids A sandstorm is caused when there is lots and lots of wind. The wind whips up heaps of sand as if my magic with it and carries it away with it for miles and miles. They can be quite something to see.

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A dark greenish tinge covers the sky, and black storm clouds threaten above. The wind roars loudly while cats hide under couches and dogs start howling. A tornado is forming.

Also known as twisters, tornadoes are violently spinning, funnel-shaped columns of air that stretch from the dark thunderclouds they form in all the way to the ground. The wind from a tornado can top 250 miles an hour-that's faster than a race car! These extreme gusts can rip apart buildings, destroy bridges, flip trains, and send cars flying. They can even tear the bark off trees and suck all the water from a riverbed.

Tornadoes occur all over the planet, but the United States leads the world in the strength and number of storms: About a thousand twisters touch down every year. ( Argentina and Bangladesh are next.) As part of larger U.S. storm systems, they cause about 80 deaths a year and close to $1 billion in damage.

How tornadoes develop

Thunderstorms form when cold, dry air is pushed over warm, humid air. When that warm air rises through the colder air, it causes an updraft, or a change in wind direction.

If winds from the thunderstorm vary greatly in speed or direction, the updraft will begin to rotate. As the rotating updraft draws in more warm air from the moving thunderstorm, its rotation speed increases, and a funnel cloud begins to form. As the twister gains strength, the funnel becomes longer. (The funnel becomes more visible as more dirt and debris is caught in its rotation.) It's most dangerous when it touches the ground.

The most violent tornadoes come from supercells-the name scientists give to large thunderstorms with winds already in rotation. About one in a thousand thunderstorms becomes a supercell, and one in five or six supercells creates a tornado.

For all their power, the average tornado lasts only about 10 minutes, though some can rage for over an hour. Twisters usually die when they move over colder ground or when the clouds above it start to break up.

The Tri-State Tornado of 1925 holds the record for time and distance of a tornado. Named for the three states it hit- Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana -the tornado took three and a half hours to tear through 219 miles.

Where and when tornadoes form

Although tornadoes have been spotted in every U.S. state, many form in a region called Tornado Alley. This zone in the Midwest extends from Texas to Ohio and includes Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Nebraska.

These states are in the path of warm, moist air traveling from the Gulf of Mexico as well as cool air blowing from the Rocky Mountains. When the warm and cool airstreams meet, tornadoes are likely to form.

Though the storms can happen at any time of the year, tornado season in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas occurs in May through early June. In North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota, tornadoes are more likely to form in June or July.

Tracking tornadoes

During thunderstorms, meteorologists use weather satellites, weather balloons, and buoys to gather data like wind speed and temperature. Then they analyze that data with supercomputers. This helps scientists pinpoint where and when a twister might form, as well as how strong or long-lasting it might be.

If weather conditions are right for a tornado to form, experts issue a tornado watch for a region, like a county or large part of a state. This doesn't mean that a tornado is on the way. But it could be-meteorologists issue the watch so people can be prepared.

When a tornado is spotted or picked up on weather radar, scientists issue a tornado warning for a smaller area, like a town or part of a city. People there are urged to take cover.

Some experts actually drive into areas where storms are forming! Vehicles tricked out with special science equipment measure things like temperature, humidity, and air pressure that's submitted to meteorologists at weather service headquarters. But the information that these "tornado chasers" gather also helps scientists better understand the science of tornados.

Thanks to these tools, meteorologists are now able to quickly predict when and where a tornado will form, giving people in a twister's path more time to seek shelter. For instance, in the 1980s, people only had about a five-minute warning before a tornado hit; by the late 2000s, the warning time grew to 13 minutes.

How to survive a tornado
Before a tornado
* Listen to weather reports for tornado warnings.
* Close all the windows.
* Prepare a safe room. This can be your basement or the lowest room in the center of your house or apartment building, away from outer walls and windows. Window-free closets and bathrooms work well, too.
* Fill the safe room with blankets, pillows, sleeping bags, and your family emergency kit (water, food, flashlight, and radio).
* Have an emergency safety plan. If you live in a trailer or mobile home, make sure you know where to go to evacuate.
During a tornado
* Stay inside-never attempt to watch or chase a tornado.
* Do not go near windows. It's not the tornado itself that causes most injuries; it's the flying debris-or the windows they crash through-that cause most injuries.
* Cover yourself with the pillows, blankets, and sleeping bags. If there's a sturdy piece of furniture, like a table, crawl under it.
* Cover your head and neck with your arms.
* If you're caught outside and can't find shelter, look for a ditch, gulley, or just a flat piece of ground away from trees and cars. Lie down as flat as you can and cover your head and neck with your arms. (Do not try this under a bridge or overpass.)
After a tornado
* Do not leave your shelter until local authorities give the OK. Follow their instructions.
* If you go outside, watch where you step-dangerous debris can be anywhere.
* Continue to monitor tornado reports. Sometimes more than one can whip up in the same place.
Learn more about tornadoes at National Geographic.
Tornado safety tips from the Nat Geo Kids book Extreme Weather by Thomas Kostigen and How to Survive Anything by Rachel Buchholz

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Find out what causes these deadly twisters-and how to stay safe.

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A tornado is a type of storm in which powerful rotating winds form a column, which reaches from a cloud down toward the ground. The winds of a tornado are the strongest on...

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Learn what causes these deadly storms—and how to stay safe.

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A tropical cyclone is a circular storm that forms over warm oceans. When a tropical cyclone hits land, it brings heavy rains and strong winds. The winds can destroy buildings and rip out trees by their roots.

Tropical cyclones have different names around the world. Those that form near North America and the Caribbean are called hurricanes. Those that form near the Philippines, Japan, and China are known as typhoons. Those near Australia and in...

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A tropical cyclone is a circular storm that forms over warm oceans. When a tropical cyclone hits land, it brings heavy rains and strong winds. The winds can destroy buildings and rip out trees by their roots.Tropical cyclones have different names around the world. Those that form near North America and the Caribbean are called hurricanes.

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During a blizzard the wind blows at speeds of more than 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour for at least three hours. Visibility (the distance you can see) drops to 0.25 mile (0.4 kilometer) or less. When the weather conditions are this bad, main roads and railways may have to be closed, and power and telecommunications lines may stop working.

In a severe blizzard, the wind speed increases to more than 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour. Visibility drops to near-zero, and temperatures fall to 10 °F (−12 °C) or lower. All local roads and transportation systems may have to close. When a severe blizzard becomes so bad that it is impossible to see where the ground ends and the air begins, it is called a "whiteout."

A ground blizzard occurs when snow has stopped falling and high winds are blowing around the fallen snow. Ground blizzards are most common in wide, open fields or flat spaces.

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A blizzard is a powerful snowstorm. Low temperatures, strong winds, and large amounts of snow together create this dangerous weather condition. During a blizzard, the driving...

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Rain is pouring hard and fast-more than eight inches in just an hour, turning river water brown with mud. Earthworms wiggle up to the ground as the soil becomes too wet for them. A flood might be coming.

Just about any place on Earth can experience flooding. When so much rain falls that the ground can't absorb it or waterways can't hold it, the overflowing water becomes a destructive force. In the United States, flooding causes more death and damage than tornadoes, hurricanes, or lightning.

How floods develop

During a rainstorm, precipitation-or the water that comes from rain or snow-goes to different places. Some of it flows into streams, lakes, or city water systems. Other precipitation evaporates and returns to the atmosphere.

But much of the rainwater is absorbed by soil. It flows through the top layer of the ground, to plant roots below the surface. This helps provides plants with the water and nutrients they need to grow. The excess water moves deeper into the ground through layers of dirt and rocks where until it becomes part of natural underground wells called groundwater.

A habitat can naturally absorb a healthy amount of rainfall it needs to thrive. But too much rain can cause lake and river levels to rise and overflow their banks, or the soil to become too wet to absorb more water. And though you might think extremely dry habitats would welcome too much rain, it turns out that the parched dirt can't absorb the rain fast enough to capture it all.

Severe coastal storms, quickly melting ice and snow, and collapsed barriers (like concrete dams) can also cause floods. Even damaged beaver dams can lead to an overflow of water that the surrounding earth can't absorb.

Different types of floods

Floods can form slowly over several days or overwhelm an area with little warning. How quickly a flood forms often depends on the habitat.

Slow-forming river flooding happens in regions called floodplains. These are large, flat areas of land along waterways with very shallow banks. When big storms hit, the water overflows the banks and spreads out across the plains.

This type of flooding isn't always bad. It brings nutrients to the surrounding soil, making it fertile for growing crops. That's why many people live in or near floodplains.

But too much water can destroy crops and damage homes. Rushing water can disrupt ecosystems by moving aquatic plants and animals to other habitats. And if flooding is so severe that it flows into local water treatment facilities, experts must monitor the incoming water to make sure the water is safe.

Another type of flooding is called a flash flood, when a flood happens within six hours of a heavy rainfall-as much as eight inches an hour. With no place to go, the moving water will tear through highways, valleys, and canyons, washing away vehicles, roads, bridges, and houses.

Quickly melting ice and snow can also cause flash flooding, especially when mountain snowmelt overflows the waterways below. On coastlines, hurricane rains cause water levels to rise, and the high winds push that water onto land. Called a storm surge, this also causes flash flooding.

Flooding in the future

Scientists believe that warming temperatures caused by climate change are increasing the risk of floods all over the world, especially in coastal and low-lying areas.

Warmer water changes the patterns of ocean currents, which changes global weather patterns. This means that some places will receive more rainfall than the ground can absorb. Other places will get less rain so the land will be drier-and unable to handle rainfall when it does occur.

Scientists think that climate change could also cause stronger hurricanes, with more rain and higher winds causing bigger storm surges. A warmer climate could also mean more snowmelt overwhelming the soil; melting polar ice could cause sea levels to rise and increase flooding. ( Find out how you can help slow climate change.)

How to survive a flood

Experts might issue a flash flood watch if weather conditions are right. It doesn't mean flooding will happen but that meteorologists want people to be prepared. When experts are sure a flash flood is on the way, they issue a warning so people can evacuate immediately. Here's how to keep you and your family safe.

Before a flood
* Know your neighborhood. Research how close you are to streams, drainage channels, canyons, and any other low-lying areas that might flood.
* Keep emergency contact phone numbers in one place so you can get in touch with family members.
* Put together an evacuation plan and share it with everyone in your household. Know what paths and routes you can use to quickly get to a high, dry place.
* Conduct flood drills to practice evacuating quickly.
* Maintain an emergency kit with a three-day supply of food and water. Experts recommend canned or dried foods that don't need to be cooked, and at least one gallon of water per day for each person and pet.

During a flood
* Never wait for orders to leave; if you think a flood might be coming, evacuate immediately.
* If flooding hasn't started, move important items to upper floors of your house.
* If flooding has already started where you are, move to the highest place you can find, like a roof of a house or car. Bring as much food, water, and sheltering blankets as possible.
* Never walk through flood water, especially if it's moving. Hazardous chemicals, sewage, and even wild animals are often in floodwater, and just six inches of moving water can knock you off your feet.
* If you must walk through water to escape, walk where the water is still. Never touch electrical equipment if you are standing in water, or even if you're wet.
* If water is quickly rising while you're in your car, leave your vehicle and move to higher ground, like a hill or bridge.

After a flood
* If you've evacuated your house, return only after you're given the all-clear from officials.
* If you stayed put, check your house for damage to electrical systems and appliances. Get rid of any food that might be contaminated from floodwater (or because it's been unrefrigerated for awhile).
* Check your home for wild animals, especially snakes. They can get washed into your home with the floodwater.
* Ask an adult before you use water to brush your teeth, make food, or even wash your hands. Flooding can contaminate water and make you sick.
Learn more about floods at National Geographic.
Flood safety tips from the Nat Geo Kids book Extreme Weather by Thomas Kostigen

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Learn about what causes flooding, different types of floods-and how to stay safe.

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Most often flooding is caused by heavy rains over a long period of time. After a lot of rain, the ground becomes full of water, and new rainwater runs off, or flows downhill. That runoff goes directly into streams and rivers. In springtime the rain may be combined with melting snow. Because of the extra water flowing into the streams and rivers, their water level rises. If the level rises so much that the water overflows the banks, a flood occurs.

Flooding can be worse if there is not much vegetation (trees, grass, and other plants) on the land around rivers. In general, land that has little vegetation is less able to absorb water. The result is a larger amount of water entering a river system.

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When water overflows onto dry land, a flood takes place. Floods have always been a part of life on Earth. Almost every culture has a legend about a great flood. Since ancient...