Schneesturm
That's German for blizzard.
I am currently trapped in my house near Boston where a Schneesturm is raging.
According to the TV, it is the worst blizzard for 200 years.
But what exactly is a blizzard? The term is thrown around in New England but there must be a precise definition. Here is Wikipedia's but if you can't be bothered to click, a short summary is that a blizzard involves winds over 35 mph, filled with snow that blow for more than 3 hours solidly.
To put that in context, wind loaded with particles of ice and snow has been battering us for over 12 hours.
It looks like a picture postcard. As a former Londoner, I get extremely excited about things like this and rapidly turn into a 4-year old child. How long did I spend as a kid dreaming of soft snow up to my neck that turns cars into little antenna sticks?
The TV stations are warning us to stay inside--but I'd take it with a pinch of salt. Afterall broadcasters do love to create panic (Fox News has already labelled it "Storm '05"), which is highly suspicious. They take any opportunity to warn us not to go out--but couldn't this be because they have their own reasons to pin us to our sofas for days on end in fear, with nothing to do but watch TV for updates? I mean, unless you are stupid and go out in shorts and flip flops, you should be much safer when the world has ground to a halt--fewer cars, muggers and axe murderers for a start.
So I will certainly be ignoring Fox News and diving in up to my neck...byeeee
I am currently trapped in my house near Boston where a Schneesturm is raging.
According to the TV, it is the worst blizzard for 200 years.
But what exactly is a blizzard? The term is thrown around in New England but there must be a precise definition. Here is Wikipedia's but if you can't be bothered to click, a short summary is that a blizzard involves winds over 35 mph, filled with snow that blow for more than 3 hours solidly.
To put that in context, wind loaded with particles of ice and snow has been battering us for over 12 hours.
It looks like a picture postcard. As a former Londoner, I get extremely excited about things like this and rapidly turn into a 4-year old child. How long did I spend as a kid dreaming of soft snow up to my neck that turns cars into little antenna sticks?
The TV stations are warning us to stay inside--but I'd take it with a pinch of salt. Afterall broadcasters do love to create panic (Fox News has already labelled it "Storm '05"), which is highly suspicious. They take any opportunity to warn us not to go out--but couldn't this be because they have their own reasons to pin us to our sofas for days on end in fear, with nothing to do but watch TV for updates? I mean, unless you are stupid and go out in shorts and flip flops, you should be much safer when the world has ground to a halt--fewer cars, muggers and axe murderers for a start.
So I will certainly be ignoring Fox News and diving in up to my neck...byeeee
posted by Celestial at 9:12 AM
3 Comments:
I wonder if there is a word for blizzard in any languages from countries where they have never had a blizzard, for example, in swahili?
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
From the OED:
"1859 L. B. WOLF Diary 1 Dec. in Kansas Hist. Q. (1932) I. 205 A blizzard had come upon us about midnight... Shot 7 horses that were so chilled could not get up."
Be careful over there...
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