Snowmageddon


Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, and Snowzilla are portmanteaus of the word "snow" with either "Armageddon", "Apocalypse" and "Godzilla" respectively. Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse were used in the popular press in Canada during January 2009, and was also used in January 2010 by The Guardian reporter Charlie Brooker to characterise the sensationalist reaction of television news to a period of snowfall across the UK. The Washington Post, out of Washington, D.C., ran an online poll asking for reader feedback prior to the February 5–6, 2010 North American blizzard on February 4, 2010, and several blogs, including the Washington Posts own blog, followed that up by using either "Snowmageddon" or "Snowpocalypse" before, during, and after the storm hit.
The Washington Post also popularized the term "kaisersnoze" in response to the February snowstorms.
During the evening preceding the first blizzard hitting Washington, D.C., most of the United States federal government closed, and press coverage continued to characterize the storm using either "Snowmageddon", "Snowpocalypse", or both.
The term "Snowpocalypse" was used in the Pacific Northwest to refer to a snowstorm in December 2008.
The 2008 children's book Winter Blast by Chris Wright, uses the term "snowmageddon" in the storyline of the book.
Cartoonstock.com cartoonist Graham Chaffer used the term "Snowageddon" in a cartoon uploaded to the site in March 2007. A satirical take on the hyperbole used by TV weather reporters. Its caption reads: "And it continues to fall! This is the big chill! The wintery whiteout! The new Ice Age! Snowageddon!"

Examples