Blowing Snow Motor Vehicle Accidents in the United States

Blowing snow is an adverse weather condition that affects driver visibility causing
hazardous driving conditions and fatal vehicle accidents. This research presents an analysis of
the locations, frequency, and meteorological conditions of blowing snow-related motor vehicle accidents,
both fatal and nonfatal, across the United States during the years of 2010-2022. Fatal crash data
was obtained from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System through the National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration and used to determine the locations and frequency of blowing snow-related
fatal accidents. It was found that there were 390 fatal accidents associated with blowing snow in this 13-
year period. The largest number of the accidents occurred in Indiana (50), Minnesota (39), and
Michigan (28). The month of January had the largest number of blowing snow-related fatal accidents,
which coincides with climatological analysis that shows January has the most frequent and
widespread blowing snow observations across the United States. Wind speed and air temperature from a
near-vicinity surface station to each reported fatal accident in Indiana found temperatures were
generally – 4°C with wind speeds mostly slower than the predicted threshold wind speed
needed for blowing snow derived from an empirical model.