I was curious why Fern last month wasn’t a blizzard and the one this week was.

Apparently, the wind!

From the National Weather Service:

Blizzards are dangerous winter storms that are a combination of blowing snow and wind resulting in very low visibilities. While heavy snowfalls and severe cold often accompany blizzards, they are not required. Sometimes strong winds pick up snow that has already fallen, creating a ground blizzard.

Officially, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as a storm which contains large amounts of snow OR blowing snow, with winds in excess of 35 mph and visibilities of less than 1/4 mile for an extended period of time (at least 3 hours).

We ended up getting 15 inches of snow this time. Last month we got 16 inches. Though the amount of snow was the same, this one felt different. The 50mph winds plastered snow to the sides of our house and vehicle, and created major drifts. We couldn’t see beyond our yard for hours due to the low visibility.

Thankfully our power stayed on, though I was prepared and got the generator out and ready to start given the circumstances.

The snow from Fern had finally melted by last Friday.

It piled up against the back door.

Charlie got to try out his new snowshoes.

Behind-the-scenes view.

After shoveling.

We made an igloo, then ate lunch in it the next day. This storm generated two days off from school.

Nice long shadows on the fresh snow.

A short venture into the woods.

From a quick tally of the what I remember, we’ve gotten close to 50 inches of total snowfall so far this winter. More coming the next couple days.

I’m tired of shoveling, but I’m glad we’ve gotten persistent snow this winter. The last couple years were mild. Seasonal variety is great, and I’m glad Charlie gets to experience the full breadth of our seasons. Playing in snow above your knee is magical when you are a kid.