Under these conditions blowing snow was not limited to a few meters above the ground. Fig 1 . Fig 2 . View towards the Sun under blowing snow. Fig 3 .
References See here .
Li, L. and J.W. Pomeroy. Estimates of threshold wind speeds for snow transport using meteorological data. Some places in Canada have 5 or more such blizzards per winter, on average. The frequency of such conditions declines exponentially with duration, i.e. a blizzard lasting several days is extremely rare even where 4-hour blizzards are numerous. So while it may be true that blizzards are more extreme events in the US, and they tend to be briefer there than in Canada, the difference is at least partly explained by the definitions themselves.