Blizzard
a modern American word whose origin is in doubt. As applied to a severe snow storm the word came into general use in the American newspapers during the bitterly cold winter of 1880- 1881, although some papers claim its use as early as the '70's. It is employed in the Western States to describe a peculiarly fierce and cold wind, accompanied by a very fine, blinding snow which suffocates as well as freezes men and animals exposed to it. One of the most severe of these storms recorded in the West was that of January, 1888, which extended from Dakota to Texas. The thermometer in some places fell from 74° above to 28° below zero, and in Dakota to 40° below. The number of deaths amounted to 235. The blizzard which will long be remembered in the Eastern States began March 11, 1888, and raged until the 14th, New York and Philadelphia being the cities most affected.