Websites Used

1. World Book 2002 B.2
2. Library of Natural Disaster - Ice Storms - World Book
3. school.eb.com/levels/elementary/article/476228#
4. www.wcvb.com/weather/how-do-you-measure-snow-in-blizzard/31111754 - Mike Wankum(2015)
5. www.accuweather.com/en/features/emergency-kits-for-winter-weat-496987
6. Google Search - Snow Definition
7. The Big Storm - Bruce Hiscock 1993
8. madsi.org/posts/archives/2004-03/1080519669.En.r.html - 2004; Nezette Rydell
9. almanac.com/content/prediction-blizzards-model-misbehavior
10. Google Search - Cold Front Definition
11. Google Search - Warm Front Definition
12. California Science - Macmillan McGraw-Hill 2008

Note: Some of these websites are not on the yellow paper because they didn't fit and some of these websites didn't print. Also, of the notes above and below are the notes I took for the project.

Vocabulary for Blizzards

• Blizzard: a powerful and dangerous snowstorm with low temperatures, strong winds, and large amounts of snow

Blizzard

• Snow: atmospheric water vapor frozen into ice crystals and falling in light white flakes or lying on the ground as white layer

Snow

• Cold Front: where a cold air mass meets a warm air mass

• Warm Front: where a warm air mass meets a cold air mass (opposite of cold front, so you know what is not a Cold Front)

• Air mass: an area with similar temperatures and humidity

Note: Some of these definitions are not on the yellow sheet because they couldn't fit and some of these definitions didn't print

Fun Facts!

• Blizzards occur most frequently in Northern Great Plains of US, Eastern and Central Canada, and various parts of Russia.
• Blizzards are snow with winds of 35 miles per hour.
• Blizzards can make it hard to see.
• Blizzards can be at 35 miles per hour for at least three hours
• When visibility drops to 0.15 miles (0.4 kilometers) or less, this is bad, which means the the main roads and railroads will close and power/telecommunication can stop working
• In a severe blizzard, wind speeds increase to 45 miles (72 kilometers) per hour, visibility is a near-zero and the temperatures fall to 10°F (-12°C) or lower.
• When blizzards get so bad that it's impossible to see where the air begins and the ground ends, it is then called a "whiteout."
• Ground Blizzards occur when the snow stops falling and high winds are blowing around the fallen snow; most common in wide open areas or flat spaces.

What can we do to stay safe in this kind of weather?

If at home or at work, follow these tips if caught in a blizzard:

1. Have a working flashlight, a charged cell phone, a battery powered radio/television, extra food and water and medicine, a first aid supply kit, a heating fuel, emergency heating source, fire extinguishers, and carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.
2. Stay inside, close off unneeded rooms to save heat, stuff towels or rags in crack of doors to save heat, and lower windows at night
3. Eat and drink, wear layers of loose fitting, light wear, and warm clothing.

First aid kit

Flashlight

Eat and Drink to stay healthy

How can we predict this kind of weather?

We can predict this kind of weather by using computers.  The National Weather Service says that the computers are eighty-five percent accurate.

Working with maps

Famous Examples of Blizzards

There is The Blizzard of 1978:

Blizzard broadcast

Picture of blizzard of 1978

There is the Great Blizzard of 1951:

Tree fell over in Great Blizzard of 1951

There is also the Blizzard of 1982:

Blizzard of 1982
All blizzards can look this bad.

What instruments are used to measure a blizzard?

First of all, to measure the snow in a blizzard, you can find a flat open area away from trees and buildings.  Take several measurements with a yardstick and average your reading to the nearest 1/10 of an inch.

Secondly, forecasters can use radiosonde balloons, which are balloons that measure various atmospheric parameters.

Radiosonde Balloon

Last but not least, we have remote sensing platforms which satellite imagery and radar.

Satellite

What are the effects of a blizzard?

There can be a huge pile up of snowdrifts that completely disrupt our daily lives.  Sometimes, all transportation stops and businesses can close down for several days.  This can be very dangerous.

Cars have snow on top.

Snow blocks the road.

Snow piles up on cars.

What is the cause?

Blizzards occur when cold masses of air move out of the Arctic into the Temperature Zone.  Advancing heavily, cold air forces the warmer, moist air to rise up along the boundary between the two air masses.  That boundary is called a cold front.  Action rise produces a heavy snowstorm with cold, northern winds.  Still, this is very dangerous.

This is the result of the cause, the effect, which is a blizzard.

What are blizzards?

Blizzards are powerful snowstorms with low temperatures, strong winds, and large amounts of snow.  They often occur in the Northern Great Plains of the US, Eastern and Central Canada, and various parts of Russia.  Like all severe weather, blizzards can be very dangerous.

A blizzard in action.