In light of the massive snowstorms that keep paralyzing parts of Canada and the United States, I searched for something ‘appropriate’ to share as today’s blog.
I had no idea there were so many words to describe the dreaded mounds of white stuff that I spent months at a time shoveling, salting, hiding from, swearing at, and in general, tolerating.
Thanks to the good folks at Thesaurus.com, I have been able to use their funky list for today’s session. This in no way reflects that fact that I (don’t) miss blizzards, noreasters or scraping verglas.
Snow Words:
Firn: granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice.
Frazil: ice crystals formed in turbulent water, as in swift streams or rough seas.
Graupel: precipitation, usually of brief duration, consisting of crisp, white, opaque ice particles, round or conical in shape and about two to five millimeters in diameter.
Hummock: a ridge in an ice field. It has no relation to hammock, like the one swaying in my yard.
Neve: granular snow accumulated on high mountains and subsequently compacted into glacial ice.
Noreaster: a cyclonic storm that moves northeastward within several hundred miles of the eastern coast of the U.S. and Canada, particularly in fall and winter, its often strong northeast winds causing high seas and coastal damage and bearing rain or snow.
Pogonip: an ice fog that forms in the mountain valleys of the western U.S.
Rime: an opaque coating of tiny, white, granular ice particles, caused by the rapid freezing of supercooled water droplets on impact with an object.
Sastruga: ridges of snow formed on a snowfield by the action of the wind.
Tramontane: a violent, polar wind from the northwest that blows in southern France.
Verglas: a thin coating of ice on terrestrial objects, caused by rain that freezes on impact.
Blizzard: a storm with dry, driving snow, strong winds, and intense cold; a heavy and prolonged snowstorm covering a wide area. Also a great summertime treat at Diary Queen.
