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News / Weather News

What is a Whiteout?

By Samantha-Rae Tuthill, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Feb 18, 2013 2:01 PM EDT | Updated Feb 25, 2013 3:25 PM EDT

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"Whiteout" is a word that you may hear in a winter forecast. It occurs when snow (or even sand) reduces visibility to next to zero. When the ground is covered in a white blanket of snow, new snow that falls from a lake-effect storm or a blizzard can cause the landscape to blend together. Add in whitish grey storm clouds and your sense of spacial boundaries can become warped quickly.

This can obviously lead to very dangerous road conditions. When your vision is impaired during a storm it's important to slow down, leave more space between your car and the car in front of you, and keep your headlights on.

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