We all know Canada isn’t called the “Great White North” for nothing. It’s a rare winter season if your day to day isn’t affected at some point whether the kids’ school is closed or your commute home takes longer than usual. Some storms, however, have an even greater impact, putting a complete halt to everyday life.
In the past century, Canadians have seen high winds, snow squalls, ice storms, and whiteouts, which are made even worse when they’re combined.
Among Canada’s worst winter storms, there’s the blizzard. Nowadays, Blizzards are one of the snow storms that stand out the most.
First of all, what is a Blizzard? It is a major snowstorm accompanied by strong winds and low visibility. These 2 features determine the severity of the storm more
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Blocked highways and rail lines, electrical-power disruption, stranded motorists and lost livestock are the predictable results of large blizzards.
On March 15, 2017 a tragic snowstorm has occurred in Montreal. Powerful winds and heavy snow have placed this storm among the greatest hits of Montreal, including March 4, 1971, March 13, 1993 and December 27, 2012.
What a storm! Heavy snow combined with very strong winds swept across southern Quebec and eastern Ontario on a Tuesday afternoon. The snow resulted in an evening commute, that was continued into the overnight. Visibility was less than 400 metres for over 5 hours, this classified this storm as an official blizzard. The snow fell in Montreal at a rate of 3-5 cm an hour between 5 and 8pm. Schools and Universities were closed during that day in Montreal, Laval, Vaudreuil and across the Townships.
Accordingly, a blizzard can cause horrible consequences which aren’t easy to deal with. In fact, a blizzard has the ability to put a city into standby, sometimes even for days. It can make driving conditions impossible and results in kids not being able to get to school as well as adults not being able to get to work. This in turn means that people become
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When a blizzard occurs, it is imperative to know the differences between watches and warnings in order to properly prepare or take the appropriate actions and stay safe. Before any sort of wintry weather, a winter storm survival kit should be kept in a secure place in case of emergency. These kits should contain everything from blankets to flashlights with extra batteries, non-perishable food, waterproof matches, a shovel and windshield scraper, a tool kit, jumper cables, a water container, road maps and flares.
If you’re at home or work, you’ll surely need a working flashlight, a charged cell phone, extra food, water and medicine. First aid supplies and a heating fuel can be very useful. If the event happens in a farm, farmers will need to move all the animals to an enclosed shelter and bring extra feed and extra water supply. But if someone is stuck inside a vehicle, he’ll certainly need a full or near full gas tank. Of course a charged cell phone is needed because after all he should let a friend or relative know about his predicted arrival
The overall location of Montreal would lead to large transportation problems for the city. More specifically, the fact that Montreal was an island made it difficult during the fall, spring, and winter for transportation of goods, such as flour, timber, etc. The only positive aspect was that the St-Lawrence river would freeze during the winter months and therefore, this would benefit “local traffic” given they would use the “frozen surface
’[16] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Guterson, David, Snow Falling on Cedars, 1994, pp 367. [2] Ibid. , pp. 107.
Early this February the states surrounding the great lakes in the northeast were pounded by lake-effect snow storms. Some areas saw more than four feet of snow. These states are accustomed to lake-effect snow storms, but it has been some time since they last saw one of this magnitude. Some areas saw up to 140 inches in less than twelve days. The storm was accountable for 35 deaths. (msn.com 2007)
INTRODUCTION The winter season can be a major hassle for some people while others just have to deal with a slight cool down in temperatures. Over the northern portions of the country, people are faced to deal with the harsh conditions that Mother Nature has in store. Some winter seasons are less brutal than others. Besides the typical storm systems that come through the area and drop different types of precipitation whether it is snow, sleet, or freezing rain, there’s another weather event that affects not everyone in the country, but primarily around the Great Lakes.
January 12, 1888, a blizzard covered the northwest part of North America that claimed many lives. This blizzard was considered to be the worst blizzard of all time, and was dubbed the “the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard”, for claiming the lives of so many school children on their way home. The death toll of this murderous blizzard rose, because of lack of preparation and being uninformed. During this time, many farmers and families were unprepared to survive a blizzard of this magnitude, by the lack of clothing they wore. Forecasters were not as accurate enough to inform people on the weather conditions. Also, shelter was a major factor in protecting themselves from the winter storms, but the shelter was not stable
One of the most significant reasons is, in some places plans might interfere with snow make up days. The first reason is some people go away for the whole summer. For example, if they were to cancel their plans it would cause major inconveniences. Second, some people book their vacations months even years in advance. For example, for Disney Cruise Lines they require you to book a year in advance in order to reserve the perfect getaway. This would be a large obstacle if their children were in school. Third, this causes families to lose money. The people who have to cancel their plans will only get compensated the partial amount or nothing at all of what they paid. For example, if they booked a trip on Disney Cruise Lines they would only get compensated a partial amount that they paid and the deposit they paid they do not get back. Interfering with people’s plans is a significant consequence, and the length of summer vacation is too.
(6) The suddenness of the winter storm caught people by surprise. A roar “like an approaching train” was all the warning the storm gave. (130) The roaring wind and snow brought darkness and dropping temperatures. The people who were inside when the blizzard struck faced a dilemma. Staying inside and doing nothing seemed “heartless,” but going into the storm “on a rescue mission was likely to be fatal to the rescuer and useless to the lost.” (143) The people who were unfortunate enough to be away from home, whether they were at school or working with their livestock, had to make a difficult decision. They could either risk trying to make it home or chance it out and stay where they were. Schoolteachers had to decide whether to send the children home or keep them at the school. If anyone ventured outside, he or she risked frostbite, hypothermia, and likely
First, Collins uses hyperbole by repeating the word “snow” five times in one sentence: “Chicago’s snowfall was so huge that the news media ran out of things to attach to “snow” - thundersnow! snowpocalypse! snowmageddon!” (Collins). She consecutively uses three portmanteaus of the word "snow" with increasing stress level to create strong feelings. She wants to emphasize that Chicago is experiencing the most massive snowstorm in the United States, one of the consequences of global warming. This is a circumstance that causes people panic. She then reminds the readers about the blizzard of 1979 which made Mayor Michael Bilandic get “kicked out of office six weeks later in the Democratic primary.” It seems that she wants to make a connection between the congressman and a snow job.
On January 12, 1888, the Children’s Blizzard hits part of the Northwest Plains. This blizzard is also known as the Schoolchildren’s Blizzard or Schoolhouse Blizzard (Potter). The name is associated with schoolchildren’s because it was mostly children trying to go back home, that froze to death along their way. It was such a beautiful day, just like one of those days someone would have in April, that no one would have suspected such a bitter snowstorm to come. The blizzard came when a cold, arctic wind from Canada met with the winds that came from the south. Everyone, including the kids, were dressed up with short sleeves. Just like how somebody would wear on a hot, spring day. The air from Canada carried heavy snow and harsh winds along with it, causing the hurricane (Blizzard Brings Tragedy to Northwest Plains). The Children’s Blizzard hit both of South and North Dakota (back then in 1888, it was one territory), Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, causing lots of heartbroken and unexpected deaths (McLeod).
Harris, Richard. "Dust Storms Threaten Snow Packs." NPR : National Public Radio. Public Broadcasting Service, 30 May 2006. Web. 26 Feb. 2011.
To begin with, the landing of the snow on the road caused many damages to them. This was because the levels on which the roads were raised were in different proportions. This, therefore, prevented lack of flow to be experienced on the roads. Moreover, the cracks that were observed on the roads came about because of the difference in the temperatures of the country.
The year was 1992; a cold December arctic wind had brought a chance of snow to the area. It was the weekend and time to relax after a long hard week at work. The weather service had predicted several inches of snow to blanket the region by the next day. Not to worry: it was the weekend and traveling was not a necessity.
Once the storm arrives, stay inside and away from walls and windows that could collapse or be blown away. If it is during the night, have a flashlight near-by so that you can find your way around in case of a power failure. Don’t use the telephone either unless it’s absolutely necessary. Many people may be trying to make emergency calls and the phone lines may be knocked down in some areas.
It achieved its modern definition by 1859, when it was in use in the western United States. The term became common in the press during the harsh winter of 1880–81. In the United States, storm systems powerful enough to cause blizzards usually form when the jet stream dips far to the south, allowing cold, dry polar air from the north to clash with warm, humid air moving up from the south.
This lack of preparation takes place in different places and involves different hazards. In the case of hurricane, only half of all respondents living in Central Florida have hurricane evacuation plan in place (Kapucu, 2008). Another finding revealed that only 8 percent of all respondent have prepared a disaster supplies kit in home. Kenny (2009) found that most residents in South Florida, hurricane-prone area, failed to take preparatory measures such as securing bottled water and food when storms strike. In another place and a different hazard, the result of study demonstrated the same finding. Paton and Prior (2008) studied bushfire preparation in Tasmania show that most respondents had undertaken some form of protective behavior only minimal and limited. They started to prepare after they were warned by disaster emergency services.