JACKSON, Wyo. — Winter weather continues to linger in Jackson, despite the coming and going of the first day of spring.
On Monday, the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Riverton office issued a Winter Weather Advisory, noting that a combination of snow and wind would affect western Wyoming through Tuesday evening. Though the blowing snow might be referred to as a blizzard colloquially, NWS is firm in its delineation between a snowstorm and a true blizzard.
According to NWS, a blizzard is distinct in its combination of blowing snow and high winds, resulting in low visibility. To qualify as a blizzard by NWS standards, the storm must include winds in excess of 35 mph and visibility at less than a quarter-mile for at least three hours.
“Blizzard conditions often develop on the northwest side of an intense storm system,” NWS writes on its website. “The difference between the lower pressure in the storm and the higher pressure to the west creates a tight pressure gradient, or difference in pressure between two locations, which in turn results in very strong winds. These strong winds pick up available snow from the ground, or blow any snow which is falling, creating very low visibilities and the potential for significant drifting of snow.”
The NWS also notes the etymology of the word “blizzard,” which was originally used to describe cannon shot or “a volley of musket fire.” An Iowa newspaper applied the term to snow conditions in the 1870s, and the rest is history. The Old Farmer’s Almanac suggests that it grew out of the German word “blitzartig,” meaning “lightninglike.”
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