Blizzard

A severe snowstorm with sustained winds over 56 km/h/Weather & Climate

A blizzard is officially defined as a snowstorm with sustained winds of at least 56 km/h (about 15.6 m/s), visibility below 400 meters, and a duration of at least 3 hours. Major blizzards can dump 0.05 cubic meters of snow per square meter per hour while driving temperatures down to minus 20 degrees Celsius or lower. Wind chill can make it feel far colder. The Great Blizzard of 1888 buried parts of the northeastern United States under 1.5 meters of snow and killed over 400 people, helping to convince New York City to bury its power lines and build the subway.