A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling but loose snow on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. Blizzards can have an immense size and usually stretch to hundreds or thousands of kilometres.
Heavy snow during the January 2016 United States blizzard.
Blizzard at the Tochal Skiing resort, Tehran and affected skiers.
A late night heavy blizzard in Ontario, Canada.
Drifted snow near Burrow-with-Burrow, Lancashire, England, January 1963
A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental and subarctic climates, these storms are not necessarily restricted to the winter season, but may occur in the late autumn and early spring as well. A snowstorm with strong winds and other conditions meeting certain criteria is called a blizzard.
Heavy snowfall and strong winds during a 2016 blizzard in New York City.
National Guard members clear a road of fallen trees after a February 2021 winter storm in Putnam County, West Virginia.
Snowstorm in Oulu, Finland
Snow storm in Modena, Italy