Editing Blizzard (section)

==Definition and etymology==
In the United States, the [[National Weather Service]] defines a blizzard as a severe [[snow]] [[Winter storm|storm]] characterized by strong winds causing [[blowing snow]] that results in low visibilities. The difference between a blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind, not the amount of snow. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have sustained winds or frequent gusts that are greater than or equal to {{convert|56|km/h|abbr=on}} with blowing or drifting snow which reduces [[visibility]] to {{convert|400|m|mi|abbr=on|disp=or}} or less and must last for a prolonged period of time—typically three hours or more.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?letter=b|title=Blizzard at the US National Weather Service glossary |publisher=Weather.gov |date=2009-06-25 |access-date=2012-08-18}}</ref><ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web|url=http://www.ussartf.org/blizzards.htm|title=Blizzards|website=www.ussartf.org|access-date=11 May 2018}}</ref>

[[Environment and Climate Change Canada|Environment Canada]] defines a blizzard as a storm with wind speeds exceeding {{convert|40|km/h|abbr=on}} accompanied by visibility of {{convert|400|m|mi}} or less, resulting from snowfall, blowing snow, or a combination of the two. These conditions must persist for a period of at least four hours for the storm to be classified as a blizzard, except north of the [[arctic tree line]], where that threshold is raised to six hours.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-07-26 |title=Criteria for public weather alerts |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/types-weather-forecasts-use/public/criteria-alerts.html |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=Environment and Climate Change Canada}}</ref>[[File:Old farm at Overtown in deep snow in 1963.jpg|thumb|Drifted snow near [[Burrow-with-Burrow]], Lancashire, England, January 1963]]
The Australia Bureau of [[Meteorology]] describes a blizzard as, "Violent and very cold wind which is laden with snow, some part, at least, of which has been raised from snow covered ground."
<ref>{{cite web |title=Blizzard definition, Weather Words, Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/info/wwords/ |access-date=2012-08-18 |publisher=Bom.gov.au}}</ref>

[[File:Jätkäsaari in a blizzard.jpg|thumb|A view of [[Jätkäsaari]], [[Helsinki]], [[Finland]], during a brief but intense blizzard on a March evening.]]
While severe cold and large amounts of [[snowdrift|drifting snow]] may accompany blizzards, they are not required. Blizzards can bring [[Whiteout (weather)|whiteout]] conditions, and can paralyze regions for days at a time, particularly where snowfall is unusual or rare.

A severe blizzard has winds over {{convert|72|km/h|abbr=on}}, near zero visibility, and temperatures of {{convert|-12|C|}} or lower.<ref name=autogenerated2>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/69478/blizzard "Blizzard"] ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online'' retrieved 17 March 2012</ref> In [[Antarctica]], blizzards are associated with winds spilling over the edge of the ice plateau at an average velocity of {{convert|160|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name=autogenerated2 />

[[Ground blizzard]] refers to a weather condition where loose snow or ice on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. The primary difference between a ground blizzard as opposed to a regular blizzard is that in a ground blizzard no precipitation is produced at the time, but rather all the precipitation is already present in the form of snow or ice at the surface.

The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' concludes the term ''blizzard'' is likely onomatopoeic, derived from the same sense as ''blow, blast, blister, and bluster''; the first recorded use of it for weather dates to 1829, when it was defined as a "violent blow". It achieved its modern definition by 1859, when it was in use in the [[western United States]]. The term became common in the press during the harsh winter of 1880–81.<ref>{{cite book|title=Entry for Blizzard|publisher=[[Oxford English Dictionary]]|url=http://www.oed.com}}</ref>