B. Science
1.
Types
and Causes of Winter Storms
A brief overview and examples of different winter weather hazards are presented at the Weather Channel web page.
http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/types.html
Another good source of information on types of winter storms, how they form and the damage they cause, see the National Weather Service winterstorm page at:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/winterstorm/winterstorms.pdf
There are many ways that winter storms form, however they all need three essential components: cold air, moisture and lift (NWS, NOAA). An example of conditions are shown on the weather chart below:
(Source: NWS, NOAA)
2.
Cold Waves
A rapid fall in temperature within twenty-four
hours to temperatures requiring substantially increased protection to
agriculture, industry, commerce, and social activities. National Weather Service
criteria includes the rate of temperature fall and the minimum to which it
falls, depending on the region of the country and time of the in year. The
Weather Channel uses the following criteria for a cold wave: a cold spell of
two days or more with below normal temperatures in at least fifteen states,
with at least five of them more than fifteen degrees below normal (source:
Weather Channel).
3.
Historical Events
http://www.weather.com/encyclopedia/winter/blizzard.html
http://www.wbuf.noaa.gov/bzpns.htm
4.
Lake Effect Snows
The National Weather Service Buffalo, NY, office maintains a lake effect snows homepage at:
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/buf/lakeeffect/indexlk.html
To see an animation on how lake effect snows occur, see the USA Today site below:
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wlakeeff/wlakeeff.htm
5.
Avalanches (see Landslides)