From there on, it's shades of white. Strong winds and steady snowfall make the big ones. These are ground blizzards, and sometimes they happen even with clear skies above. A blizzard is a North American name for a violent, bitterly cold wind accompanied by blowing snow whipped up from the ground. Freezing temperatures, high wind speeds, low visibility, and drifting snow create hazardous conditions.
Snowstorms occur when two different fronts collide.
In the winter, when a warm front moves in and meets a cold front, heavy nimbostratus clouds develop and heavy snowfall occurs. The air holds tiny water droplets. When these droplets become too large for the air to support, they fall to the Earth as rain. Snow forms when a cloud's temperature is between 10 degrees Fahrenheit and 4 degrees Fahrenheit. There are ice crystals in clouds.