Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
BLIZZARDS
BLIZZARDS. Blizzards are severe snowstorms, characterized by strong winds. The difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of 56 km/h (35 mph) with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or .25 mile or less and must last for a prolonged period of time — typically three hours or more. Ground blizzards require high winds to stir up already fallen snow.
The "Armistice Day Blizzard" of November 11, 1940 struck Dubuque in the afternoon. With ice and wind, the temperature fell more than 30 degrees in less than five hours. Waves up to seven feet high, made efforts difficult to rescue as many as fifty hunters on islands in the MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
On April 8-10, 1973 a record-breaking storm dumped 19.2 inches of snow on Dubuque. Making the situation worse were winds up to fifty miles per hour which created drifts up to 12 feet high closing roads throughout the tri-state area.
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Source:
175 Years, Volume Three, Telegraph Herald, September 15, 2008