It’s February, so it’s time to start thinking about your spring landscape. However, if you live in an area that experiences heavy snowfall, you may be concerned about how the extra snow will impact your landscape when the weather finally starts warming up. Read on for a few tips on handling too much snow this winter and ensure your landscape is in tip-top shape come springtime.
Snow Removal Strategies
The first step to dealing with too much snow is to remove it from your yard as soon as possible. The longer the snow sits in one spot, the more likely it is to damage nearby plants or cause flooding once temperatures start rising again. Instead, use a shovel or snow blower to clear out excess snow quickly and efficiently to prevent property damage.
Be aware of where you’re piling the snow — if you pile it around the foundation of your house or overhanging trees, it can cause problems later on down the road. Also, avoid piling enormous amounts of snow next to structures like sheds or decks, as these piles can cause additional stress on those structures over time.
Snow Damage Prevention Tips
Once you’ve cleared away all of the excess snow from your yard, you can still do a few other things to help protect your landscape from damage due to excessive winter precipitation. First and foremost, try adding a layer of organic mulch around any vulnerable plants — this will help insulate them from extreme cold temperatures and keep them healthy throughout winter. Additionally, make sure that any drainage systems near your home are working correctly — clogged drains can lead to flooding and waterlogged soil, damaging nearby vegetation. Finally, consider investing in a de-icing agent such as rock salt or calcium chloride. These agents will help prevent icy patches from forming on walkways and driveways during extreme cold snaps. All in all, there’s no need to panic if your area receives more than its fair share of winter precipitation this year — with a bit of foresight and planning, you’ll have your spring landscape looking perfect come April!
Dealing with too much snow this winter doesn’t have to be stressful — by taking proactive steps such as removing excess snow quickly, adding layers of mulch around vulnerable plants, ensuring proper drainage systems are functioning correctly, and applying de-icing agents before cold snaps occur; you can help protect your spring landscape from potential damage caused by heavy winter precipitation. With these tips in mind, there’s no reason why you won’t have an idyllic spring landscape come April!
Contrary to popular belief, it is the wind and not the amount of snow that differentiates a blizzard from a snow storm. This is according to the National Weather Service, who’s definition for snow storm classifies a blizzard as a storm that has strong enough winds to blow snow resulting in low visibility. To be classified as a blizzard, a snow storm must feature winds as high as 35 mph that cuts down visibility to at most .25 miles.
While cold and a large snowfall are major features of many blizzards, they are not necessary for the classification. The strongest blizzard can sometimes last for days, especially if there is an excessive amount of snow.
To be classified as a “severe” blizzard, there are certain benchmarks that it must meet. The winds must get up over 45 mph and temperatures have to dip below 10 degrees fahrenheit. In some places, such as Antarctica, blizzards have been known to feature winds as high as 99 mph.
A ground blizzard is a completely different kind of storm. While it was played for comedy in the famous Peanuts cartoon, it is absolutely true that snow can come up from the ground. A ground blizzard occurs when there is no precipitation but high winds pick up loose snow and blow it around, causing low visibility.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word “blizzard” most likely has an onomatopoeic origin. Words like blister, blast and blow all relate closely to the word blizzard. It lists the first use of the word in 1829. At the time, that first use described a blizzard as a violent blow. It wasn’t until 1859 that the word made its way into the dictionary and by the 1880s it had become a common term in the United States.
While we all know that blizzards are caused by wintery conditions, there is a specific cause. Most often, blizzards are caused by warm southern air interacting with cold northern air. For instance, the Pacific Ocean sends cold and moist air to the east, where it meets warm air from the Gulf of Mexico. If any of this air dips south, then a blizzard will start to form. This is why there is so much snow in the Rockies, since that is often where the two will clash.
Another cause of blizzards in the United States is when a cold front over the Hudson Bay area in Canada shifts to the great lakes region and New England. This air can clash with the air from the Gulf of Mexico, which will cause blizzard conditions and high snowfall.
The Rocky Mountains can be a source of low pressure systems. These systems can move onto the flat land of the Great Plans and collide with the warm air there. There are fewer obstructions on the plains, so the wind can reach incredible speeds. Not only that, but the collision can cause massive thunderstorms to the south and heavy snowfall to the north. Without the obstructions to block the wind, it can reach extreme low visibility very quickly. A whiteout is when there is literally no visibility at all. People have been known to get lost on their property since they cannot see what is in front of their faces, including their own homes if they are more than 10 ft away. In these conditions, driving is incredibly dangerous and motorists need to pull over and wait until visibility is safe again.