Winter storms are at their worst when blizzard conditions prevail. The combination of heavy snowfall, strong winds and extremely cold conditions, bring blinding snow which can cause 'white-out' conditions, deep drifts, and wind chill levels that threaten survival. A blizzard is categorized as heavy snow fall, with gales of 56kph (35mph) or more, and visibility down to 0.4km (0.25ml). 35mph may be the 'entry level' for a blizzard, but gusts of up to 100mph are not unknown, and trees, power lines, structures, and even ships at sea can all become victims of this destructive power.

11th March 1888 - The 10th May had been the warmest day in the mildest winter, the city of New York had seen for 17 years. However, all this was to change. The collision of two large weather fronts was to create what was to be called "the Blizzard of 1888". A warm wet front moving up from the Gulf of Mexico, and 145 km (90 mph) gales forcing before it, a mass of frigid Arctic air down from Canada. The blizzard blew huge snow clouds across the Northeastern United States with a fierce intensity. By the evening an unrelenting fury of heavy snows, bitterly cold, and high winds pounded New York City and an area of 160 km (100 ml), with a storm that lasted for three days, bringing everything to a standstill. Over 15,000 people were stranded in unheated carriages on the elevated railway; horse-drawn streetcars were blown over. In New York there was 53 cm (21 in) of snow. Crew of the Niagaru arriving from Havana, Cuba, told of decks being "knee deep in snow and ice". In Connecticut the snowfall was between twenty and fifty inches deep, but high winds caused snowdrifts up to twenty feet in several areas. In New Haven thirty-one inches of snow fell in twenty-four hours. The total snowfall by the end of the storm was forty-five inches.
The storm took people by surprise, and many were unprepared for what was to come. Businesses had to shut down, and people were isolated in their homes or their places of work, while the storm raged. It took days for many to dig themselves out. Over 400 people across the east coast died in the storm, up to 200 in New York itself, over 200 ships and boats were wrecked, and caused damages amounting to $20 million.

11th March 1993 - Although they were enjoying a record-breaking 74 degrees, weathermen in Peachtree City were expressing concern about the radar readings. A gigantic block of freezing rain, extending from the Gulf Coast to Canada was rapidly approaching Georgia.
The leading edge of the storm was a wave, bringing warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico. Late during the night of the next day, Georgia was hit by a cold front. The spring-like temperatures vanished and the thermometer dropped with frightening speed.
A glance at the regional radar showed an immense storm system, now covering the entire southeastern and eastern United States from Alabama to Maine.
In the nearby mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee, snowfall levels soon reached record levels, and two hundred hikers had to be rescued from Mount Mitchell, where four feet of snow fell. In Hall County, the raging blizzard brought traffic to a standstill, and Interstates north of Atlanta were closed, secondary roads were impassible and choked with abandoned vehicles. In it's 3-day journey across the eastern United States, the effects of the storm forced every major airport to close.
Frozen rain brought power lines down all over the state and the rest of the Southeast, leaving millions of residents to cope without heat and lights for two days. Tornadoes swept through Marion County, causing major damage to Ocala Regional Airport. A tidal surge in Western Citrus County, with bone-chilling temperatures and winds that gusted up to 80 mph. forced an evacuation of coastal areas.
The storm, described as a cross between a hurricane and a blizzard., with wind gusts up to 100 mph caused the deaths of 270 people, thousands of felled trees, impassable roads, with snow drifts up to 10 feet high, thousands of homes were damaged, many buildings destroyed, including 90 smashed chicken barns, with an estimated 1.3 million chickens killed, and damages amounting to $3 billion.

20th. April 1888 - The worst hailstorm on record killed 246 people.

India - Hyderabad

10th. March 1939 - A terrific hailstorm swept over an area of 30 square-miles, with hailstones up to 7.1/2lbs in weight (a World record, if this is factually correct). Crops were flattened, 1,000 sheep, and 200 cattle were battered to death.

6th. February 1978 - In only 32 hours, a record 27 inches of snow fell on the city of Boston. A hurricane force blizzard swept through Massachusetts, killing 29 people, flattening homes and commercial buildings, causing damage amounting to millions of dollars, and leaving 100,000 residents homeless.

28th. January 1977 - A depth of 35 inches of snow covered the area of Buffalo, following 40 days of snowfall. If that wasn't enough, a 70mph storm moving down from Canada spent four days adding to the snowfall and the damage. 29 people were killed, and a less than happy 17,000 people were trapped at their places of work.

26th. December 1947 - The heaviest snowstorm to hit New York since 1888 covered the Manhattan streets to a depth of 26 inches. 77 people lost their lives as a result of this storm.

10th. July 1923 - A hailstorm, with hailstones weighing up to 2lbs, killed 23 people and hundreds of cattle.

MOISTURE:
to form clouds and precipitation. Air blowing across a body of water, such as a large lake or the ocean, is an excellent source of moisture.

LIFT:
something to raise the moist air to form the clouds and cause precipitation. An example of lift is warm air colliding with cold air and being forced to rise over the cold dome. The boundary between the warm and cold air masses is called a front. Another example of lift is air flowing up a mountain side.