--- description: A major storm can be easier to understand than you think. Just know these no's title: The Blizzard: Ten Questions That Can Be Answered "No" image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a4ac8655c2d0abb/69877bec5f570f2320b14eab/nicholson-shining.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [weather](/tag/weather/) ## weather Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 10 Questions About the Blizzard  by [Jeffrey Kluger](/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Jan 26, 2015 5:18 PM CUT  Don't go there; it will all be over soon Don't go there; it will all be over soonWarner Brothers/Getty Images  by [Jeffrey Kluger](/author/jeffrey-kluger/)  ## Jeffrey Kluger Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Jan 26, 2015 5:18 PM CUT **1\. Does this storm prove global warming is really just a hoax cooked up by degenerate scientists like my Twitter feed keeps saying?** No. Again: no. Absolutely, positively no. This is weather, not climate. Just like a collie isn’t a species, a crouton isn’t a salad and the aglet on your shoelace ain’t the whole shoe, so too is a single meteorological event in your town (or state or region) not the same as climate. All the same, you’ll hear a lot of self-satisfied huffing from climate change deniers this week. Please feel free to laugh at them. ### East Coast Readies Itself for Up to 3 Feet of Snow  A couple kisses during a blizzard in Times Square in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME  A man crosses the street in New York City during a snow storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME  People walk in front of the Manhattan Bridge in the DUMBO neighborhood as it snows in Brooklyn, NY on Jan. 26, 2015 Andrew Hinderaker  A man walks through the middle of a snow storm in Times Square, New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME  A man waits to cross the street in Brooklyn, NY on Jan. 26, 2015. Andrew Hinderaker  A pedestrian passes through Johnstown Central Park, in Johnstown, Pa., Monday, Jan. 26, 2015. Todd Berkey—The Tribune-Democrat/AP  Fishing boats ride out the storm at dock in Scituate, Mass., on Jan. 27, 2015. Michael Dwyer—AP  A worker pushes a snow blower down Lexington Avenue in Manhattan on Jan. 26, 2015. Carlo Allegri—Reuters  A man stands in falling snow on West 42nd street in Times Square in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Mike Segar—Reuters  Two people huddle for warmth on the street in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME  A man strolls on a walking path at Liberty State Park, with the Statue of Liberty in the distance, in Jersey City, N.J. on Jan. 26, 2015. Julio Cortez—AP  A tugboat sails on the East River during a snow storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Jewel Samad—AFP/Getty Images  People walk over the Brooklyn Bridge during a large winter storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Andrew Kelly—EPA  A man crosses the street during a snow storm in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME  A woman walks though Central Park as it snows in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Carlo Allegri—Reuters  Children play in Central Park as it snows in the Manhattan borough of New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Carlo Allegri—Reuters  Loaves of bread sit on a sparse shelf at a grocery store in Port Washington, New York on Jan. 26, 2015. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters  A crewmember de-ices a Frontier Airlines plane at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, Jan. 26, 2015. Seth Wenig—AP  Crews load road salt into trucks ahead of a major winter storm in Chelsea, Mass. on Jan. 26, 2015. Brian Snyder—Reuters  Snow falls in New York City on Jan. 26, 2015. Benjamin Lowy—Getty Images Reportage for TIME **2\. Then is the blizzard a** **_result_** **of climate change—the much discussed “global weirding”?** If we’re going to smack down the anti-science kooks on question one, let’s resist the urge for a touchdown dance on question two. It’s true that climate change means a growing number of extreme weather events, and the spike in storms like 2012’s Sandy that do a billion dollars of damage or more do fit with climate change models. But again, any one storm is proof only of that storm. And hey, when you’re getting three feet of snow, that should be trouble enough. **3\. Speaking of Sandy, do I have to call the blizzard Juno?** No. Indeed, please don’t. Unlike hurricanes, which are named by the World Meteorological Organization as part of a longstanding global tradition, Juno was named by the Weather Channel, as part of a somewhat newer tradition of thinking up scary names that sound good on TV. You are free to give this blizzard any name you want. I’m calling it Larry. **4\. What about “nor’easter?” Can I call the blizzard that?** Are you a lobster fisherman? From Maine? If not, no. **5\. Is “blizzard” just a synonym, for “lots o’ snow”?** Nope, there’s actually a technical definition: There must be falling snow (or blowing snow already on the ground), with winds of at least 35 mph (56 k/h) reducing visibility to no more than 0.25 mile (0.4 km) for at least three hours. **6\. Do I really need 12 tins of powdered milk, a case of canned tuna and five dozen double-A batteries to get through this?** Yes, if it’s 1952 and you’re packing a fallout shelter. Otherwise, we’re talking a couple of snow days at the most—followed by the risk of way too many tuna casseroles for the rest of the year if you don’t get ahold of yourself. **7\. Does it have to be so flipping cold for a blizzard to happen?** This may not be much comfort to you, Concord, NH, where it’s 14°F (-10°C) in the run-up to the big blast, but no, as long as the atmospheric temperature is 32°F (0°C) or below, snow can form. It can even be a few degrees warmer on the ground, but the snow that falls will quickly become slush or, as it’s known on the sidewalks of New York City, goo. **8\. I’ve heard this storm is a result of meteorological “bombogenesis.” Surely the people at weather service are smoking something?** Alas no. Bombogenesis is a real word and it occurs when the barometric pressure in the most intense part of a storm drops more than 24 millibars in 24 hours. Lower pressure then causes cold air to rush toward the ground and warmer air to rise. This isn’t to say the weather service doesn’t have fun saying “bombogenesis” over and over and over again. They’re meteorologists, but hey, they’re people too. **9\. Once the blizzard’s over, we’re cool, right?** Nope. Arctic air is going to continue to barrel through the northeast into February, keeping temperatures well below normal. As for the upper Midwest, where it’s usually only slightly more comfortable than the planet Neptune (-378°F, with a likelihood of graphite hailstones) around this time of year: Nice and mild. **10\. If I have kids, is there any chance at all that I won’t hear them singing the score from** **_Frozen_** **while we’re all trapped in the house together for the next 48 hours?** No. None at all. Deal with it—and don’t watch _The Shining_. It will only give you ideas. ### Blizzard 2015: How New Yorkers and New Englanders Shared Photos  Marissa McClain posted this photo from Brookline, Mass. saying "Ventured outside. Found this man skiing down summit." Marissa McClain (@marissamcclain) via Instagram  Apoorva posted this photo from Times Square in New York City. Apoorva (@\_apoorva) via Instagram  Nicole Drummond posted from the Brooklyn borough of New York City saying "It was quiet streets early this morning in DUMBO and we got to explore it all!" Nicole Drummond (@nicoleraedrummond) via Instagram  Andrea Alimonta posted this photo from New York City saying "Stay Warm!" Andrea Alimonta (@andre3nto) via Instagram  John DeFoor posted this photo in Atlantic City, N.J. saying "The view from my room. I cant wait to hit the beach!" John DeFoor (@JohnDeFoor) via Instagram  Jaka Vinsek posted this photo of an empty Grand Central Station in New York on Jan. 26, 2015. Jaka Vinsek (@jakavinsek) via Instagram  Gwen Betts posted this photo in Boston saying "Dear Midwest: Please send snow blowers." Gwen Betts (@gwennasaurus) via Instagram  Meshari posted this photo in Boston saying "Go home. Stay there. Seriously!" Meshari (@\_meshari) via Instagram  Garret posted this photo from New York City saying "A light with no purpose tonight thanks to the might of Juno." Garret P (@garretp) via Instagram  Brandon Sullivan posted this photo from saying "These cars in Boston won't be going anywhere soon." Brandon Sullivan—AccuWeather (@btsullivan91) via Instagram  David Everly posted this photo of the Manhattan skyline from Brooklyn. David Everly (@selfproclaim) via Instagram  Gautham Asok posted this photo from the Emerald Necklace Conservancy in Boston. Gautham Asok (@gauthamasok) via Instagram  Adrian Moyer posted this photo from the Queens borough of New York City saying "Stay warm NYC, apparently there's a storm coming." Adrian Moyer (@\_adrianmoy) via Instagram  Azor Ahai posted this photo from New York City saying "The blizzard soon cometh." Azor Ahai (@crazy\_kwasi) via Instagram ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3682375/blizzard-10-questions/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3682375/blizzard-10-questions/"},"headline":"10 Questions About the Blizzard","datePublished":"2015-01-26T17:18:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:02.643Z","description":"Hint: All of them can be answered 'No'","url":"https://time.com/3682375/blizzard-10-questions/","keywords":["weather","climate change","Juno","Blizzard"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a4ac8655c2d0abb/69877bec5f570f2320b14eab/nicholson-shining.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jeffrey Kluger","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/jeffrey-kluger/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2a4ac8655c2d0abb/69877bec5f570f2320b14eab/nicholson-shining.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jack Nicholson In 'The Shining'","caption":"Jack Nicholson In 'The Shining'","creditText":"Warner Brothers/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3682375/blizzard-10-questions/","name":"10 Questions About the Blizzard"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: Northeast Hit By Massive Storm","description":"A potentially historic snowstorm is heading for the Northeast. Find out more by watching today's Know Right Now","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/reQs7Khe/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-26T16:20:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/reQs7Khe.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3682375/blizzard-10-questions/","duration":"PT1M3S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3682375/blizzard-10-questions/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```