Editing Blizzard (section)

==United States storm systems==
[[File:Winter Storm Juno 2015 NYC 4 crop.jpg|thumb|Near-whiteout conditions dim the far end of [[Times Square]] in [[New York City]], 2015.]]
[[File:Blizzard2 - NOAA.jpg|thumb|March blizzard in North Dakota, 1966.]]
[[File:Brooklyn Bridge snowy.jpg|thumb|right|The Brooklyn Bridge during the [[Great Blizzard of 1888]].]]

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.<ref name=autogenerated1 /><ref>[http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/blizzard.html weather.com – Storm Encyclopedia<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130211082356/http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/blizzard.html |date=February 11, 2013 }}</ref>

When cold, moist air from the Pacific Ocean moves eastward to the [[Rocky Mountains]] and the [[Great Plains]], and warmer, moist air moves north from the [[Gulf of Mexico]], all that is needed is a movement of cold polar air moving south to form potential blizzard conditions that may extend from the [[Texas Panhandle]] to the [[Great Lakes]] and [[Midwest]]. A blizzard also may be formed when a cold front and warm front mix together and a blizzard forms at the border line.

Another storm system occurs when a cold core low over the [[Hudson Bay]] area in Canada is displaced southward over southeastern Canada, the Great Lakes, and [[New England]]. When the rapidly moving cold front collides with warmer air coming north from the [[Gulf of Mexico]], strong surface winds, significant cold air [[advection]], and extensive wintry precipitation occur.

[[Image:Nearwhiteoutinminnesota.JPG|thumb|Conditions approaching a blizzard whiteout in [[Minnesota]], on March 1, 2007. Note the unclear horizon near the center.]]

[[Low pressure systems]] moving out of the Rocky Mountains onto the Great Plains, a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in [[prairie]], [[steppe]] and [[grassland]], can cause thunderstorms and rain to the south and heavy snows and strong winds to the north. With few trees or other obstructions to reduce wind and blowing, this part of the country is particularly vulnerable to blizzards with very low temperatures and [[whiteout (weather)|whiteout]] conditions. In a true whiteout, there is no visible horizon. People can become lost in their own front yards, when the door is only {{convert|10|ft|m|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} away, and they would have to feel their way back. Motorists have to stop their cars where they are, as the road is impossible to see.

===Nor'easter blizzards===
[[File:TotallyFreeImages com-281074-Standard-preview.jpg|thumb|left|200 px|Illustration of the Great Blizzard of 1888]]

A [[nor'easter]] is a macro-scale [[storm]] that occurs off the New England and [[Atlantic Canada]] coastlines. It gets its name from the direction the wind is coming from. The usage of the term in North America comes from the wind associated with many different types of storms, some of which can form in the North Atlantic Ocean and some of which form as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. The term is most often used in the coastal areas of [[New England]] and [[Atlantic Canada]]. This type of storm has characteristics similar to a [[hurricane]]. More specifically, it describes a [[low-pressure area]] whose center of [[rotation]] is just off the coast and whose leading winds in the left-forward quadrant rotate onto land from the northeast. High storm waves may sink ships at sea and cause [[coastal flooding]] and [[coastal erosion|beach erosion]]. Notable nor'easters include The [[Great Blizzard of 1888]], one of the worst blizzards in U.S. history. It dropped {{convert|40|-|50|in|cm|order=flip|abbr=on}} of snow and had sustained winds of more than {{convert|45|mph}} that produced snowdrifts in excess of {{convert|50|ft|m}}. Railroads were shut down and people were confined to their houses for up to a week. It killed 400 people, mostly in [[New York (state)|New York]].