Blowing snow is

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

lifted from the surface by the wind, at eye level () or more, that will reduce visibility. Blowing snow can come from falling snow or snow that already accumulated on the ground but is picked up and blown about by strong winds. It is one of the classic requirements for a

blizzard A blizzard is a severe Winter storm, 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 th ...

. Its METAR code is BLSN. If the snow remains below , it will be called drifting snow (METAR code: DRSN). The snow which is being blown about may deposit as snowdrifts.

Formation

There are 3 ways of producing blowing snow: # In horizontal advection conditions, the winds blow across the surface of the earth with very little if any large-scale upward motion. # In

convection Convection is single or Multiphase flow, multiphase fluid flow that occurs Spontaneous process, spontaneously through the combined effects of material property heterogeneity and body forces on a fluid, most commonly density and gravity (see buoy ...

conditions, the winds exhibit large-scale upward motion lifting the snow into the atmosphere creating drifting waves of snow up to in height. # In thermal–mechanical mixing conditions, massive convective rolls form in the atmosphere and the blizzard may be observed from space with the blizzards convective rolls creating waves of snow (also known as snow billows) resembling lake or ocean effect snow bands. The extreme conditions can quickly bury a two-story home and make breathing very difficult if not impossible if caught outdoors.

Notes

Snow or ice weather phenomena {{Meteorology-stub

Formation

See also

Notes