The perils of winter

[Zustiur]

I swear I posted this last week, but the thread is no-where to be found.

In my game, the party are currently a day's foot travel (under normal conditions) away from their home. It's the middle of winter, and a blizzard is about to hit (unexpectedly). As I live in a place that never snows, I'm not sure what I can do to get the horrors of a blizzard across to my players (and their characters). That's where I'm hoping you guys can help.

What conditions do you need for a blizzard? What type of weather typically comes before a blizzard?

I'm thinking it will play out day by day as follows:
Heavy snow 12" (this is 'today' from the game's point of view.)
Medium snow 7" + winds picking up
Heavy snow 12" + windy
Light snow 3" still windy
Blizzard 6" + extreme winds
Blizzard. 6", extreme winds
Blizzard. 6", extreme winds
Blizzard. 6", extreme winds
Blizzard. 6", extreme winds
Blizzard. 6", extreme winds, calming
Calm


Is that even close to something that would happen in reality? I can fudge the exact details because the weather is being magically manipulated, but I'd like to at least start off with something that could actually occur.

Also, on days when there is a lot of snow, such as the 12 inches I'm suggesting above, does it typically fall steadily all day, or is it more often one big heavy dump, with light snow the rest of the day?

If the snowfall outlined above is even remotely realistic, how long would it take to melt away, given that the country is in below freezing temperatures at the moment? Would it melt at all?

On top of all that, what sort of perils can I throw at the party? I figure even with that much snow, they should make it home before the blizzard actually hits, but how much would the snow slow them down? The PHB says 'deep snow = X 1/4 speed'. But what exactly is 'deep snow'?

Once they do get home, what further perils can I throw at them? I'd like this to be a series of non-combat challenges (which makes this game system independent, hence TTG&RPG rather than DND forum...) but I have no idea what those challenges could actually be.
The things that do come to mind are: shelter, warmth and food, but I'm struggling to think of how to make challenges out of those things.

HELP!

 

[Herobizkit]

Snow is crystallized rain. It generally falls and is affected in the same way as well.

Thing about snowfalls is, unless you're already in an arctic (ie. icy tundra) situation, snow generally falls on or around the freezing point (0 C / 32 F). Once it's down, though, the temperature can dive and the wind can make it feel even colder than it is.

Snowing for seven days... doesn't generally happen in a temperate area, and I couldn't tell you for sure about arctic areas. Seventy inches over ten days amounts to nearly six feet of snow - as tall as a human.

What would be most disturbing is to have that six feet of snow happen all at once. Suddenly, people are trapped in their houses and the weight of such snow may be enough to crush buildings.

They will have to dig their way out of wherever they are. They'll have the find a way to navigate through/over the too-deep snow ("deep snow" I'd say would be covering 50% or more of the body, or waist-high on a M creature). Once THAT happens... then they have to help a whole town.

I'm sure there's more things... can't think of any at the moment.

Also, be happy you don't have snow. It's pretty the first time you see it, a nuisance the rest of the season.

 

[Nellisir]

I haven't studied this scientifically, but I've lived in New Hampshire and upstate New York for my entire life. I've experienced exactly one winter without snow (last winter, and we did get some, it just was never heavy and melted immediately) and it sucked.

Generally with a blizzard or heavy snow, you get 12-24 hours of heavy snow, tapering off towards the end. The amounts can vary; do some research about snowfall around Buffalo or the Tug Hill Plateau (that's north of Syracuse in upstate New York). Both get fabulous amounts of snow as a result of the moisture coming off the Great Lakes. In my experience, high snowfalls don't necessarily last longer than "short" snowfalls, it just falls faster.

Weather before a snowfall can vary, but is usually "normal". Afterwards, it's often spectacular. Crystal clear blue skies, brilliant stars or sunshine. One of the best drives I ever had was across Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio 24 hours after a monster snowstorm. It was beautiful. The plows had cleared the highways, but no one was driving and everything was shimmering white or brilliant blue.

Sometimes it warms up afterwards, sometimes it stays cold. Warm is worse, because snow isn't "wet" until it gets warm. Snow that hasn't warmed is usually looser and fluffier. Once you get into the high 20's or very low 30's, the snow gets damp, heavy, and sticky.

If you had steady warmth after the snowfall (above freezing), I'd drop the snow by 6-12" per day. Rivers and streams are going to flood extremely fast - frozen ground does not absorb water, so everything goes into the rivers. Bridges, villages, and towns will be washed away. Roads will disappear.

Over time and with more moderate warming, the snow will settle to about half of it's initial height, so a 4' snowfall would leave about 2' of snow after a week or so, as it slowly compacts.

Movement is pretty much going to stop once the snow hits 3'. If they make two miles a day in 3' of snow, that's excellent. That's without snowshoes. With snowshoes, I'd cut whatever their regular rate would be in half, and leave it at that. Trust me, however awkward snowshoes seem, they're far, far better than not having them.

Heavy snowfall will bend trees, snap limbs, and collapse houses that don't shed the snow or aren't cleared. My family's cabin collapsed a few years ago from a heavy snow - the roof went down, the walls went out, and the whole thing just pancaked. Tents will collapse if the snow isn't cleared off of them. On the upside, snow is a great insulator (actually, air is a great insulator, and snow has lots of air in it), so you can stay really cozy in a snow cave or shelter surrounded by snow. Evergreens can make great shelters, particularly blue spruce and other "christmas" trees that keep their needles low to the ground (unlike white pines, where the lower branches die off). They'll hold snow above you and often leave a dry, soft space around the trunk with a thick bed of needles. Trust me, it's one of the coziest places you'll ever find.

Exposure/getting wet is the biggest danger. Falling in water and sweating are the most common ways to get wet. Water transfers heat away from your body, making you colder. You dress in layers in the winter so you can shed them as you exert yourself, keeping your body temperature under control and keeping the clothes next to your skin dry. If the characters do get wet, it's crucial they get a fire and get warm and dry ASAP.

Oh, one other great thing about snow - after a snowfall, at night, when the sky clears - the white snow reflects light. A full moon on snow at night lights everything up. Great ambiance for a night-fight with fey or something. It also reminds me that snow blindness is a very real threat as well.

 

[GhostBear]

[...] the white snow reflects light. A full moon on snow at night lights everything up. Great ambiance for a night-fight with fey or something. It also reminds me that snow blindness is a very real threat as well.

Snow blindness is a big problem. All this nice snow, sure is pretty, especially when it's acting like a big mirror. Now you're getting light directly from the sun into your eyes AND off of the ground.

Navigation can be a problem (seeing clearly into the distance is a challenge) and there could be effects in combat as well. But at night... That's awesome stuff.

Blizzards are nasty, but worse are ice storms / freezing rain. It's rain, but rain that is just above freezing. It hits already cold surfaces, the wind chills it further, and suddenly everything is coated in ice.

Ice storms are nasty for trees. Snow isn't quite as bad; wind can blow it off, and when it gets heavy branches will bow a bit and some of the snow will usually slough off. Ice doesn't do that - it just keeps building up and it is heavy. We have far more tree damage in north-east Ohio from ice than from snow.

Forget climbing anything. If you're on rocky ground, expect to slip and fall. Hope that you have something waterproof; a blizzard is bad, but at least snow is "dry" until it melts on you. Don't believe your local preacher / pastor / priest. Hell isn't full of fire. It's a never ending ice storm.

They tend to only happen in the early winter before things get really cold, but every once in a while someone will send us some warm air that will stir things up. Thanks, people to my south and west. I didn't want that electricity anyway.

Snow storms will be worse downwind from large, unfrozen bodies of water. The wind goes across the water, picks up the moisture, carries it upward where it freezes and is then dumped nearby. Near Lake Erie, the worst storms come before the lake has frozen over. Once it freezes then moisture doesn't rise up nearly as much.

You can also walk to Canada once the ice is thick enough, or so they say. I wouldn't want to try it.

Which brings up another winter danger, not related to storms, but if there's a big storm and you can't see well then it's easier to stumble into... Thin ice. It is very possible for your players to be walking along through the snow, hear some groaning underneath, and all of a sudden they're plunged into icy waters that they didn't even see.

Snow typically falls throughout the day, but there are heavy periods just like rain. Where I live it isn't uncommon to have 12" inches dumped on us overnight, though from time to time I've seen 18"-24". Last year in Alaska, some areas had 18-24 feet of snow over the course of a week or two. So feel free to ramp it up. There's really nothing you can do at that point but wait for it to melt.

When you're in the middle of a blizzard, you don't see pretty, bright, white snow. The snow is going to block out a lot of the light coming from the sun, so you end up with a darker, gray-ish scenario instead.

 

[herrozerro]

Snow drifts are also another hazard, while it might snow only 6 inches heacy winds can make it several feet in places as the snow blows and is redistributed.

For travel walking in 6" of snow then falling into a 3' low area is quite the hazard.

 

[Gilladian]

I grew up in southern Ohio and Vermont; nasty snowy wet winters in Ohio, and just COLD in Vt.

A blizzard is a horrible thing. If you want to read true accounts of what it is like, read Laura Ingalls Wilder's book The Long Winter. The descriptions of the children trying to get from the school back to town as a blizzard hit are chilling. And the horrible adventure Almanzo and Cap had going to get grain to save the town from starvation is eye-opening.

Having to stand at the heads of the horses and clear the frost/ice from their nostrils so they wouldn't suffocate from their own breath... the snow being SO blinding that you didn't know you were 5' from a building, and could walk right by it and die of exposure; there were reasons they strung ropes across the 10' space between house and barn!

Here's a link to the largest blizzard ever to hit NY State in 1888: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blizzard_of_1888

Edit: realized I'd given the name of the wrong book, corrected it.

 

[Blackbrrd]

In Norway you can have nice warm sunny weather that turns into a blizzard in 6-12 hours. The further north or higher up (in the mountains) you get, the more sudden and strong/cold blizzards you get.

On the western side of the mountains you can get huge amounts of snow. There is a summer ski resort that opens in may, and the first thing they do is to dig out their ski lift which you sit in. Usually the towers for these are 5-10m high.

Basically, you can do whatever you want with the storm, and nature will have done much worse than you can imagine somewhere in Norway.

 

[Janx]

I grew up in southern Ohio and Vermont; nasty snowy wet winters in Ohio, and just COLD in Vt.

A blizzard is a horrible thing. If you want to read true accounts of what it is like, read Laura Ingalls Wilder's book The Long Winter. The descriptions of the children trying to get from the school back to town as a blizzard hit are chilling. And the horrible adventure Almanzo and Cap had going to get grain to save the town from starvation is eye-opening.

Having to stand at the heads of the horses and clear the frost/ice from their nostrils so they wouldn't suffocate from their own breath... the snow being SO blinding that you didn't know you were 5' from a building, and could walk right by it and die of exposure; there were reasons they strung ropes across the 10' space between house and barn!

Here's a link to the largest blizzard ever to hit NY State in 1888: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Blizzard_of_1888

Edit: realized I'd given the name of the wrong book, corrected it.

I never read her books, but having grown up in the same state her tales are set in, there might be a bit of artistic license there. Plus, her stuff is set in the Mankato area, southern MN is a bit milder than Northern MN.

Horses and cows will probably put their arse into the wind. They'll also shake their head from time to time. ice ain't gonna stack up so bad they can't breathe. I've never had to go out and clear off the animals snouts.

Like [MENTION=70]Nellisir[/MENTION] says, a blizzard tends to last about a day or two. A foot or more of snow will shut things down until the plows come by. In a primitive land, things are sort of easier, in the sense that folks aren't debilitated by lack of electricity or plowed roads to drive their cars on because they don't have cars or electrical devices they are dependant on.

Snow drifts can be quite high, but usually occur against the side of buildings (up to their height). That can be what blocks a door, making it tricky to leave after the storm.

Snow on a tent, ain't all that much of a problem, as there's a simple clearing trick. Simply thump the tent canvas regularly from inside, and the accumulated snow will tumble down.

During the blizzard, usually temperatures are around freezing. basically, warmer than the worst winter can get. I don't recall ever seeing a blizzard in -40F weather. But plenty in snow-ball making temperatures.

The badder times are really when it gets below 0F and the wind comes up. This can drive snow, which is usually more crystaline, than the usual fluffy flakes of a blizzard. Thus, it stings the eyes, and it's freaking cold. That's when winter is dangerous.

Not that you'd want to be out in a blizzard, but a party that is travelling in a winter area is probably as prepared to wait it out as they were to camp out in the winter on their way to somewhere.

Somebody making a 1/2 day hike to another town, might be in more trouble as they dressed for winter, but didn't really prepare to camp out in it. Which is what a blizzard will force you to do (or you'll be an idiot and keep moving and get lost or some such).

In some ways, you might not get lost if the direction is pretty obvious, but you may get off the trail or road, and step into water or stumble on somethign covered in the snow, or some such.

I've worked cutting lumber in -20F weather. Mostly, you bundle up good. Once you get working, you unzip to cool off. The temperature hasn't really risen, but your body heat has built-up, and you'll need to vent it.

Obviously, someone unprepared could be screwed. But only a moron teleports to Minnesota in the winter without cold weather gear. Only a moron climbs up to the snowy mountain region dressed in their pajamas. It's kind of obvious where you are going, and what the weather will be like, and one packs accordingly.

Also note, we don't get blizzards all the freaking time. They're kind of like hurricanes. Once or twice a year, during the winter season. Heck, the movie the "Perfect Storm" was based on the hurricane of Halloween October 1991. While that hit the east coast, my college buddy was taking his drivers test in Maine. Meanwhile, I was trick or treating in the blizzard that we got in MN as the hurricane pushed weather to us. I got snowed in at a friends place for about 2 days that weekend.

In terms of impact, I've only been snowed in a few times (where the roads weren't plowed/driveable) for a day or so. Electicity in MN is pretty solid. At best, we lost juice for a few hours when some drunk would hit a pole (regardless of weather). Meanwhile, when I moved to TX in 97, 1 day of freezing rain took out the power for 3 days. The system is larger and more fragile down here, than up north.

The mountains might be different. In some ways, snow storms in the mountains get created by additional factors, so they may be more common. Somebody who lives in a Mountain state can probably say how often snow storms/blizzards happen

 

[GhostBear]

Having to stand at the heads of the horses and clear the frost/ice from their nostrils so they wouldn't suffocate from their own breath...

This reminds me of one more thing, though it only applies if your party has horses (mules, donkeys, etc.)

Hooves are flexible. Not very flexible, but flexible enough. As horses (donkeys, mules, etc.) walk across snow, the snow will ball up under their feet. Horses that do not have shoes on are pretty much okay - the shifting of their hoof walls will help the packed snow dislodge and it isn't that big a deal.

However, horses that have been shod do not have as much flexibility in their hooves when they walk. The bottom of the hoof is kept in place by the metal shoe. Because of this, snow and ice can build up under the hoof and make walking painful and dangerous. You need to constantly remove the snow from their hooves or remove the shoes so that the hooves can flex properly again.

I've never had to clear snow and ice from our horses so that they don't suffocate, but then again they have a nice barn to keep them out of the nasty weather.

 

[Nellisir]

Horses and cows will probably put their arse into the wind. They'll also shake their head from time to time. ice ain't gonna stack up so bad they can't breathe. I've never had to go out and clear off the animals snouts.

Doesn't work if you're driving the animal into the wind.

In a primitive land, things are sort of easier, in the sense that folks aren't debilitated by lack of electricity or plowed roads to drive their cars on because they don't have cars or electrical devices they are dependant on.

3' of snow hinders horses just as much as people. Before cars, towns had teams of horses or oxen pull rollers to pack the snow so the sleighs could slide easily.

Snow on a tent, ain't all that much of a problem, as there's a simple clearing trick. Simply thump the tent canvas regularly from inside, and the accumulated snow will tumble down.

If you've got 3' of snow and 4' of tent, it's hasn't really got anywhere to fall to.

Only a moron climbs up to the snowy mountain region dressed in their pajamas. It's kind of obvious where you are going, and what the weather will be like, and one packs accordingly.

And this is why several people die every year in the White Mountains in NH. Weather, particularly in mountains, is -not- obvious. Snow has been recorded on Mt Washington (the highest peak in the northeast, and the highest peak at it's latitude west of the Rockies...) in every month of the year. Including August and July. The average ANNUAL temperature is 27.2 degrees. And yes, that's Farenheit. It will be green grass and birdsong at the base, and icicles at the time you reach the peak. It snows, but with winds average 35 mph and the highest recorded surface wind speed ever (231 mph), it ends up in Maine PDQ. Backpacker magazine has Mt Washington listed as one of the 10 most dangerous hikes in American. 135 deaths on the mountain since 1849...which obviously doesn't include the people who die elsewhere in the White Mountains.

Every year people have to be rescued. The only reason that number is at least double is because there are some very good, very generous, highly trained rescuers in the area.

Ahem. Anyways. Yeah, mountains dangerous.