A ‘Ground Bizzard’ May Be Michigan’s Sneakiest Snowstorm – What You Need to Know This Winter

Along with a crippling ice storm, there is likely no more treacherous winter weather conditions than a blizzard. But did you know that snow doesn't need to be falling from the skies for blizzard conditions to exist.

The ground blizzard is a thing and they can impact an area long after the snow as fallen.

👇🏼BELOW: See Intense Photos of Historic Michigan Blizzards Dating Back to 1880👇🏼

The National Weather Service, in an effort to prepare the region for winter, is dusting off is winter weather vocabulary and sharing it with us.

Specifically for a winter storm to achieve blizzard status 4 things need to happen:

• 35 mile-per-hour sustained wings
• blowing snow
• visibility reduced to 1/4 mile or less
• conditions lasting at least 3 hours

Notice in that definition there's nothing about snowfall rates or snowfall total. So a blizzard can technically be happening when there is no snow actually falling from the sky. And those blizzards that are caused by snow that is already on the ground and is whipped up by the wind to blow to such an extreme level that visibility will be reduced for hours is known as a ground blizzard.

READ MORE: 'Blizzard Gates' Exist on Highways Nearly Everywhere in the Snow Belt, Except Michigan

Across the United States, it's the Great Plains that are most susceptible to ground blizzards. Weather watchers consider these storms to be more dangerous than a standard blizzard because they can happen when the sky is clear and even sunny and take place after a storm has passed and people's guards may be down to the danger.