National Weather Service Lists Places That Qualified For Blizzard Designation

The snowstorm that pummeled New England was brutal, but it takes a specific set of weather conditions to qualify for the designation of blizzard. The National Weather Service on Wednesday published a list of places that can legitimately claim that they survived the Blizzard of 2015. Among them: Marshfield, Massachusetts, which endured blizzard conditions for 14 hours, and where the storm knocked out a seawall. The weather service’s definition of blizzard is falling or blowing snow that reduces visibility to a quarter-mile, plus winds that frequently gust to at least 35 mph. Those conditions must be predominant for at least three consecutive hours.