Summary
During the winter of 2003, a record winter of blizzards, cold weather storms struck Europe, stranding approximately 15,000 people in their cars in a traffic jam that extended almost 100 miles outside Paris. In the mid-Atlantic states of the U.S., blizzard conditions left 20 dead and shut down many airports. Blizzards, Revised Edition answers the most important questions students and non-specialists have about this cold weather phenomenon. Written in an easy-to-follow style, author Michael Allaby has updated the book with the most recent blizzards, providing a general overview of the current information that shapes the way blizzards are understood and studied.
Featured coverage includes the definition of a blizzard; discussion of continental and maritime climates, movements of air masses in winter, ice caps, glaciers, and icebergs; where blizzards and gales occur; and what happens when water freezes and ice melts. It covers hail, sleet, snow, evaporation, condensation, and the formation of clouds, also providing explanations of freezing rain, freezing fog, snowflakes, and types of snow. An overview of several other topics, such as Wilson Bentley, the man who photographed snowflakes, as well as snow storms, wind chill, frostbite, hypothermia, white outs, changing climates, and forecasting blizzards gives students, teachers, and non-specialists a broad understanding of this type of dangerous weather.