A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong sustained winds and low visibility, lasting for a prolonged period of time—typically at least three or four hours. A ground blizzard is a weather condition where snow is not falling but loose snow on the ground is lifted and blown by strong winds. Blizzards can have an immense size and usually stretch to hundreds or thousands of kilometres.
Preston County is a county located in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 34,216. Its county seat is Kingwood. The county was formed from Monongalia County in 1818 and named for Virginia Governor James Patton Preston.
Hardy County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,299. Its county seat is Moorefield. The county was created from Hampshire County in 1786 and named for Samuel Hardy, a distinguished Virginian.
McHenry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 Census, it had a population of 310,229, making it the sixth-most populous county in Illinois. Its county seat is Woodstock. McHenry County is one of the five Illinois collar counties in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. Long known as a center of recreation along with agriculture in the western portion, it has more recently experienced rapid rates of suburbanization, exurbanization and urbanization, but the western portions of the county remain primarily agricultural and rural.
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,702. Its county seat is Mount Carroll.
Commerce Township, officially the Charter Township of Commerce, is a charter township of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 40,186 at the 2010 census.
Glenville is a town in and the county seat of Gilmer County, West Virginia, United States, along the Little Kanawha River. The population was 1,128 at the 2020 census. It is the home of Glenville State University.
Augusta is an unincorporated community in central Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. It is located along the Northwestern Turnpike at the northern terminus of Augusta-Ford Hill Road between Shanks and Pleasant Dale, east of Romney. According to the 2000 census, the Augusta community has a population of 4,728.
Capon Springs is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. According to the 2000 census, the Capon Springs community has a population of 95.
High View is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States. It is located south of Capon Bridge along West Virginia Route 259 on the Virginia line. High View is home to the Bhavana Society Forest Monastery and Retreat Center. According to the 2000 census, the High View community has a population of 791.
Points is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the Points community has a population of 478.
The North American blizzard of 1996 was a severe nor'easter that paralyzed the United States East Coast with up to 4 feet (1.2 m) of wind-driven snow from January 6 to January 8, 1996. The City University of New York reported that the storm "dropped 20 inches of snow, had wind gusts of 50 mph and snow drifts up to 8 feet high." This storm was a classic example of a nor'easter, but the storm would not have been as historically significant without the presence of the arctic high pressure system located to the north of New York. It was followed by another storm, an Alberta Clipper, on January 12, then unusually warm weather and torrential rain which caused rapid melting and river flooding in the Northeast Floods later that month. Along with the March Superstorm of 1993 and the January 2016 United States blizzard, it is one of only three snowstorms to receive the top rating of 5, or "Extreme", on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale (NESIS).
West Virginia Route 45 is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs 25.8 miles (41.5 km) from the Virginia state line near Glengary east to WV 230 and WV 480 in Shepherdstown. WV 45 connects the communities of Glengary and Arden in southwestern Berkeley County with the county seat of Martinsburg. The state highway also connects Shepherdstown in northern Jefferson County with Martinsburg, where the highway meets Interstate 81 (I-81), U.S. Route 11, and WV 9.
Back Creek is a 59.5-mile-long (95.8 km) tributary of the Potomac River that flows north from Frederick County, Virginia, to Berkeley County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle. Back Creek originates along Frederick County's border with Hampshire County, West Virginia, at Farmer's Gap in the Great North Mountain. Its name reflects its location to the west of North Mountain. The perspective of colonists from the east in the 18th century led them to call it "Back Creek", because it lay to the back of North Mountain.
The December 2009 North American blizzard was a powerful nor'easter that formed over the Gulf of Mexico in December 2009, and became a major snowstorm that affected the East Coast of the United States and Canadian Atlantic provinces. The snowstorm brought record-breaking December snowfall totals to Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
The January 25–27, 2011 North American blizzard was a major Mid-Atlantic nor'easter and winter storm, and a New England blizzard that affected portions of the northeastern United States and Canada. This storm came just two weeks after a previous major blizzard had already affected most of these same areas earlier on the same month of January 2011. The storm also came just one month after a previous major blizzard that affected the entire area after Christmas in December 2010. This storm was the third significant snowstorm to affect the region during the 2010–11 North American winter storm season. It was followed a few days later by another massive storm that blanketed much of the United States and Canada.
The 2015–16 North American winter was not as frigid across North America and the United States as compared to the 2013–14 and 2014–15 winters. This was mainly due to a strong El Niño, which caused generally warmer-than-average conditions. However, despite the warmth, significant weather systems still occurred, including a snowstorm and flash flooding in Texas at the end of December and a large tornado outbreak at the end of February. The main event of the winter season, by far and large, was when a crippling and historic blizzard struck the Northeastern United States in late January, dumping up to 3 feet of snow in and around the metropolitan areas. Several other smaller snow events affected the Northeast as well, but for the most part the heaviest snowstorms and ice stayed out further west, such as a severe blizzard in western Texas in late December, and a major late-season snowstorm in Colorado in mid-April.
The January 2016 United States blizzard produced up to 3 ft (91 cm) of snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States during January 22–24, 2016. A weather system, evolving from a shortwave trough that formed in the Pacific Northwest on January 19, consolidated into a defined low-pressure area on January 21 over Texas. Meteorologists indicated that a resultant storm could produce more than 2 ft (61 cm) of snow across a wide swath of the Mid-Atlantic region and could "paralyze the eastern third of the nation", and regarded it as a "potentially historic blizzard". Winter weather expert Paul Kocin described the blizzard as "kind of a top-10 snowstorm".
The 2012–13 North American winter started out somewhat early, as the remnants of Hurricane Sandy brought heavy snow to the mountains of West Virginia in late October. Later, a strong nor'easter affected the weary Northeastern United States, hampering storm recovery efforts and dropping several inches of snow. The rest of the winter featured several other notable events, such as a Christmas winter storm that affected most of the Eastern United States, and the most notable event occurring in early February, when a powerful blizzard struck the Northeast and brought record snow to some areas. During the winter, a weak El Nino was expected to influence weather conditions across the continent.
A blizzard in February 1983, nicknamed the "Megalopolitan Blizzard", impacted the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, and New England regions of the United States. First developing as a low-pressure area on February 9 while a El Niño event ensued, the low then moved eastward across the Gulf of Mexico. While the low progressed across the Gulf, several tornadoes associated with the system touched down across Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, ultimately resulting in ten injuries. The low then emerged over the Atlantic Ocean near the Georgia–South Carolina border, later developing and intensifying into a cyclone as it moved parallel along the East Coast of the United States. The cyclone then moved northward while producing blizzard conditions and heavy snowfall across portions of the Mid-Atlantic on February 11, including across Maryland and northern Virginia. Continuing to intensify and moving northward, the cyclone then brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to parts of the Northeast and New England. Overall, the blizzard caused 46 deaths and set multiple weather records in terms of snowfall.
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