Question 1 of 15
What are the official requirements for a blizzard?
Why: The NWS uses this precise definition.
Question 2 of 15
What is the average ratio of snow-to-rain?
Why: About 10 inches of snow melts to 1 inch of rain.
Question 3 of 15
What is graupel?
Why: Graupel is soft hail — snow crystals coated in rime.
Question 4 of 15
What Great Lakes phenomenon dumps heavy snow downwind of water?
Why: Cold air over warm lake water picks up moisture and dumps it inland.
Question 5 of 15
What is a 'nor'easter'?
Why: Nor'easters bring heavy snow to the US East Coast.
Question 6 of 15
What is thundersnow?
Why: Rare — needs strong instability plus cold temperatures.
Question 7 of 15
What's the coldest temp in the continental US?
Why: -70°F at Rogers Pass, MT, 1954.
Question 8 of 15
What is 'firn'?
Why: Firn is halfway between snow and glacial ice.
Question 9 of 15
What US city has the highest average snowfall (major cities)?
Why: Syracuse averages about 124 inches per year.
Question 10 of 15
What kind of ice storm coats surfaces like glass?
Why: Freezing rain lands as liquid and freezes on contact.
Question 11 of 15
What's the coldest wind chill ever recorded?
Why: -105°F at Prospect Creek, Alaska, 1971.
Question 12 of 15
What creates a snowflake's 6-sided shape?
Why: Water freezes into a hexagonal crystal lattice.
Question 13 of 15
What was the biggest single-storm snowfall in US history?
Why: 189 in at Mount Shasta Ski Bowl, February 1959.
Question 14 of 15
What Alaskan port city is the snowiest large city in America?
Why: Valdez averages over 300 inches per year.
Question 15 of 15
What is a 'polar vortex'?
Why: When it weakens, cold air escapes south.