Did you know?

The earliest recorded appearance of the word blizzard meaning “a severe snowstorm” was in the April 23, 1870 issue of a newspaper published in Estherville, Iowa. Blizzard shows up again during the following years in several newspapers in Iowa and neighboring states, and by 1888, when a snowstorm paralyzed the Eastern seaboard, the word was well-known nationally. However, in other senses, the word blizzard existed earlier. Davy Crockett, for instance, used it twice in the 1830s, once to mean a rifle blast and once to mean for a blast of words. All of these uses seem related, but the ultimate origin of the word is still unclear.

Examples of blizzard in a Sentence

We were snowed in by a raging blizzard.

Recent Examples on the Web As marquee names like Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed bolted for the blizzard of bucks and far less taxing schedule, top stars like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Schauffele have stayed. — Bryce Millercolumnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 June 2022 Parts of the Dakotas and Montana were under blizzard warnings and forecasters warned of treacherous whiteout conditions on the roads. — Alexandra Meeks, CNN, 13 Apr. 2022 These included blizzard warnings for portions of Montana and the Dakotas. — NBC News, 11 Apr. 2022 In addition, blizzard warnings extend from Montana to the Dakotas this week. — Melissa Griffin, ABC News, 11 Apr. 2022 Parts of 10 states were under blizzard warnings at some point: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, along with much of the Delmarva Peninsula in Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. — Mark Pratt And Mike Catalini, chicagotribune.com, 30 Jan. 2022 Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia all faced blizzard warnings Saturday. — Editors, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2022 Heavy snow spanned from the southern Delmarva Peninsula to eastern Maine, with blizzard warnings posted through several states, including coastal Virginia and Maryland. — Washington Post, 29 Jan. 2022 Parts of New Jersey, Maine, Massachusetts and Maryland are under blizzard warnings, which means severe winter weather — including whiteout conditions — is being seen or is expected within the next 12 to 36 hours. — CBS News, 28 Jan. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'blizzard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.