snowstorm
Americannoun
-
snowstorms
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of snowstorm
Explanation
A snowstorm is a disturbed weather event that leads to a whole lot of white, frozen precipitation. If there's a snowstorm in the forecast, you may want to reschedule your picnic! Among all the various kinds of storms — including windstorms, rainstorms, and hailstorms — only a snowstorm has the potential to bury your car under a fluffy pile of snow. If it gets windy enough, a snowstorm can become a blizzard, dumping so much blowing snow that you can't see through it. Snowstorm merges snow and storm, which comes from a root word that means "to whirl or turn."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Her family, from the United States, could not travel over, while her wife, based in Finland, was stuck in a snowstorm.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Perhaps you blow a tire while driving through a sudden snowstorm, with help several hours away.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
A team that plays in an enclosed stadium never has to worry about a snowstorm neutralizing its passing game.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
This past week’s snowstorm has been described as “historic” for its hurricane-force winds and massive amount of snowfall, and it’s just one of several snowstorms this area of the country has had this season.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2026
On December 3, 1942, three pilots from the 586th took off in their solo Yak fighters into a snowstorm on a mission to escort a VIP away from the Stalingrad Front.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Throughout its long life, the tree had survived fires, winds and snowstorms and more recently, the extreme weather that comes with climate change.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
“During big snowstorms, firms often let employees work from home for the week, and similarly they cut them some slack when gas prices hit $4, or in California $5 or even $6.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026
This past week’s snowstorm has been described as “historic” for its hurricane-force winds and massive amount of snowfall, and it’s just one of several snowstorms this area of the country has had this season.
From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2026
Holiday snowstorms across large swaths of the U.S. caused a flurry of cancellations ahead of the New Year—just in time for the year-end travel rush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026
Allied forces continued their attacks, with little gain, until snowstorms and rain turned the Somme battlefield into a muddy morass.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
