The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast U.S. are bracing for freezing rain, snow and basically a winter maelstrom of nasty weather.
Yesterday, the Baltimore-Washington office of the National Weather Service had already issued a blizzard watch.
But what does that mean?
Marshall Shepherd, director of the atmospheric sciences program at the University of Georgia and host of the Weather Channel’s “Weather Geeks” show wrote a blog for Forbes.com so the public better understands what it means for them.
“It is one of the most misused or casually used meteorological terms,” Marshall wrote. “Media in the south and other regions that rarely see snow will often use the term for any significant or hampering wither weather event.”
Marshall offers several official definitions, including this one from the National Weather Service glossary:
“A blizzard means that the following conditions are expected to prevail for a period of 3 hours or longer: Sustained winds or frequent gusts to 35 miles an hour or greater, and considerable falling and/or blowing snow (i.e. reducing visibility frequently to less than 1/4 mile).”
Interestingly, Shepherd quotes AccuWeather as saying that in the 1870’s an Iowa newspaper used the word blizzard to describe a snowstorm. But it’s more common usage at the time was to refer to a cannon short or volley of musket fire.
“Clearly, the NWS feels this storm warrants that type of watch. As with any significant weather event, I encourage people to prepare accordingly,” Shepherd wrote. “If the worst doesn’t happen, don’t complain, be thankful……”