Snowmageddon

Transmission towers and power lines in East Texas snow from the 2010 North American Blizzard

Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, and Snowzilla are portmanteaus of the word "snow" with "Armageddon", "Apocalypse", and "Godzilla" respectively. Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse were used in the popular press in Canada during January 2009, ^[1] and was also used in January 2010 by The Guardian reporter Charlie Brooker to characterise the sensationalist reaction of television news to a period of snowfall across the UK. ^[2] The Washington Post , out of Washington, D.C., ran an online poll asking for reader feedback prior to the February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard on February 4, 2010, ^[3] and several blogs, including the Washington Post's own blog, followed that up by using either "Snowmageddon" or "Snowpocalypse" before, during, and after the storm hit. ^[4]

The Washington Post also popularized the term "kaisersnoze" (see Keyser Söze) in response to the February snowstorms. ^[5]

During the evening preceding the first blizzard hitting Washington, D.C., most of the United States federal government closed, and press coverage continued to characterize the storm using either "Snowmageddon", "Snowpocalypse", or both. ^[6]

The term "Snowpocalypse" was used in the Pacific Northwest to refer to a snowstorm in December 2008. ^{[7] [8]}

The 2008 children's book Winter Blast by Chris Wright, uses the term "snowmageddon" in the storyline of the book. ^[9]

Examples

• The Great Blizzard of '93 (Superstorm ^[10] )
• January 2000 North American blizzard (Snowmageddon in Raleigh ^[11] )
• North American blizzard of 2009 (Snowpocalypse ^[12] )
• February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard (Snowmageddon ^[12] )
• February 9–10, 2010 North American blizzard (Snowmageddon: Snoverkill) ^{[12] [13]}
• February 25–27, 2010 North American blizzard (Snowicane ^[14] )
• December 2010 North American blizzard (remembered as Snowmageddon in Lambton County) ^{[15] [16]}
• January 31 – February 2, 2011 North American blizzard (remembered as Snowmageddon in Chicago ^[17] )
• February 2013 nor'easter (also described by The Atlantic as a snowpocalypse or snowmageddon ^[18] )
• January 2014 Gulf Coast winter storm (remembered as Snowmageddon in Atlanta ^[19] )
• January 2–4, 2014 North American blizzard (Snowpocalypse ^[20] )
• November 13 – 21, 2014 North American winter storm (Snow Blitz ^[21] , Snowvember ^[22] )
• A series of storms in winter 2015 that broke snowfall records in Boston, Massachusetts (Snowmageddon, ^[23] snowpocalypse ^[24] )
• January 2016 United States blizzard (Snowzilla ^[25] )
• Winter of 2009–2010 in the United Kingdom (Big Freeze, Snowmageddon) ^[2]
• Winter of 2010–2011 in the United Kingdom (Snowmageddon in Scotland) ^[26]
• January 17, 2020 in St. John's, Canada blizzard (Snowmageddon) ^{[27] [28]}
• February 13–17, 2021 North American winter storm (Great Texas Freeze ^[29] , Snowmageddon 2021 ^[30] )
• January 2026 North American winter storm (Snowmageddon 2026) ^{[31] [32]}

See also

• The dictionary definition of Snowmageddon at Wiktionary

• 1993 Storm of the Century
• 1991 Perfect Storm
• Hurricane Sandy
• Perfect storm
• White Juan

References

1. Ibbotson, Heather (January 26, 2010). "Mild winter easy on city budget". Brantford Expositor . Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2010. "At this time last year, we were referring to it as snowmageddon," Madden said.
2. Brooker, Charlie (January 16, 2010). "Charlie Brooker's Screen burn". The Guardian . Retrieved February 11, 2010. As far as the 24-hour rolling networks were concerned, this wasn't a freak weather condition. This was war. Death from the skies. Earth versus the Ice Warriors. Snowmageddon.
3. "Vote for storm name, Twitter hashtag & snow total". Washington Post . February 4, 2010. Archived from the original on June 28, 2012. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
4. Broder, John M.; Healy, Jack (February 5, 2010). "East Coast Is Hit by 'Potentially Epic Snowstorm'". The New York Times . Archived from the original on February 11, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010. bracing for what newspapers and bloggers have been calling the "snowpocalypse," or "snowmageddon,"
5. Gainor, Dan M. (February 10, 2010). "Washington's New Four-Letter Word: Snow". Fox News. Reuters. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2010. D.C. residents have turned to social media like Twitter and Facebook to vent their frustration with terms like "snOMG," "snowmageddon", "snowpocalypse", and "kaisersnoze".
6. "Powerful blizzard shuts down US capital". AFP. February 5, 2010. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved February 11, 2010. The storm, dubbed "Snowpocalypse" and "Snowmageddon" by many locals,
7. "Snowpocalypse Now". North Kitsap Herald. 23 December 2008. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
8. Wheaton, Sarah (19 December 2009). "Snowpocalypse Now, and Then". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 4 December 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
9. Wright, Chris (2008). Winter Blast. Mountain Valley Publishing. ISBN   978-1-934940-10-5. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05. Retrieved February 11, 2010.
10. Armstrong, Tim (2013-02-23). "Superstorm of 1993 "Storm of the Century"". National Weather Service . Archived from the original on 2022-09-29. Retrieved 2026-01-26. The Superstorm of 1993 (also called the Storm of the Century) was one of the most intense mid-latitude cyclones ever observed over the Eastern United States.
11. Skinner, Grant (2026-01-22). "Raleigh's snowmageddon: Breaking down the biggest snowstorm in 2000". WRAL-TV . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. January 24-25th, 2000, nicknamed 'Raleigh's Snowmageddon', brought over 20 inches of snow to parts of the Triangle, and just two days prior, forecast models showed next to nothing.
12. Samenow, Jason (2010-02-12). "Capital Weather Gang - Amazing mid-Atlantic snow statistics". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
13. "Snowmageddon Began 14 Years Ago Today". The MoCo Show. 2024-02-05. Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-25. A second blizzard named 'Snoverkill' hit the region five days later and both were preceded by 'Snowpocalypse' in December,
14. Sistek, Scott. "Snowpocalypse to snowicane: Hype reigns". KATU . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. AccuWeather's Web site on Saturday took up the 'snowicane' defense: 'Our concern was that the storm might be taken too lightly by the public if we stuck to the norm of calling the system a nor'easter, snowstorm, or even a blizzard.'
15. "The blizzard that broke the highway: Snowmageddon after 15 years". The Sarnia Journal. 2025-12-15. Retrieved 2026-01-25. Snowmageddon, as it came to be known, unfolded over December 12 and 13, gripping Lambton County and much of southwestern Ontario with blinding snow, whiteout conditions, and extreme cold.
16. "Did you survive Snowmageddon? County asks resident to share stories". CTV News . 2020-11-17. Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. It's those stories the Lambton County Archives wants residents to share to mark Snowmageddon's 10th anniversary.
17. "Chicago Blizzard 2011: Looking back on 'Snowmageddon' 10 years later". WLS-TV . 2021-02-01. Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
18. Abad-Santos, Alexander (2013-02-08). "The Best Ways to Track the Big Blizzard". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. The big snowpocalypsesnowmageddonsnowbigdeal blizzard of 2013 is arriving as we speak and some cities on the East Coast are already getting their first dusting and/or pounding of snow.
19. Raymond, Jonathan (2020-01-28). "Go outside and appreciate the clear conditions, because six years ago today was Snowmageddon". WXIA-TV . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. It's one of the most infamous weather events in Atlanta history, and it turns six years old today: Snowmageddon.
20. Fiscella, Charles (2014-01-06). "Media's "Snowpocalypse" on "Winter Storm Hercules" creates major public overreaction". IrishCentral. Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26.
21. Sistek, Scott (2022-11-17). "A look back on Buffalo's historic 2014 'Snowvember' storms that left 7 feet of snow in some spots". Fox Weather . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. The snowstorms of Nov. 17-20, 2014, later dubbed 'Snowvember' or the Buffalo 'Snow Blitz' were a one-two punch of storms that had some areas just south of Buffalo digging out from 5-7 feet of snow, while some areas a few miles away received just a few inches.
22. Russo, Jeff (2024-11-18). "'The biggest challenge we've ever had': A look back at the 'Snowvember' storm 10 years later". WKBW-TV . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. It's the one-two punch of snow that will forever be remembered as 'Snowvember.'
23. Nik DeCosta-Klipa (January 27, 2025). "The wildest stats and numbers from Boston's 'Snowmageddon' winter of 2015". WBUR. Boston, Massachusetts. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
24. Jill McDonough (February 21, 2015). "In Boston's snowpocalypse, some find inspiration". The Boston Globe . Boston, Massachusetts. Archived from the original on February 7, 2025. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
25. Angela Fritz (January 22, 2016). "We hereby name this winter storm 'Snowzilla'". The Washington Post . Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016. Snowzilla makes so much sense to us because of its perfect nod to this 'Godzilla' El Nino.
26. Smail, Alexander (2026-01-26). "Remembering Scotland's 2010 'Snowmageddon' as heavy snow blankets country". Daily Record . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. One of the most infamous weather events took place in 2010, when the country was battered by snow chaos in what was dubbed 'Snowmaggedon'.
27. "'Snowmageddon': cleanup begins after record Newfoundland storm". The Guardian. Canada. Reuters. 18 January 2020. On social media people described the storm as 'snowmageddon'.
28. Marx, Paris (26 January 2020). "Snowmageddon has come and gone. Let's hope metro St. John's learns the right lessons". CBC News.
29. "The Great Texas Freeze: February 11-20, 2021". National Centers for Environmental Information . 2023-02-24. Archived from the original on 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
30. Gibson, Michael (2022-11-16). "2021 Snowmageddon was Bad in Texas but the State has Seen Colder Days". KNUE . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-26. During the snowmageddon of 2021, Tyler set a low temperature record of six degrees below zero while Longview set a record of five degrees below zero (KETK).
31. Ryan, Kate; Murillo, Mike (2026-01-23). "Snowmageddon 2026? How the DC region is preparing for the incoming snowstorm". WTOP-FM . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-25.
32. White, Matt (2026-01-24). "Dozens of military bases brace as 'Snowmageddon' storm hits this weekend". Task & Purpose . Archived from the original on 2026-01-26. Retrieved 2026-01-25.