JACKSON, Wyo. — Winter has finally arrived in Jackson Hole, bringing with it a number of weather alerts from the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Riverton office.
Amid the different alerts, one might be moved to understand the exact delineation of different winter weather terms.
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 says 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.”
