New research shows the number of blizzards has doubled since the 1960s.
From 1960 to 1964, the United States averaged nine blizzards per year, according to a study done by Jill Coleman, a meteorologist at Ball State University. The research also found from 1995 to the present, the number of blizzards has jumped to 19 per year.
In a news release, Coleman credited improved technology and more accurate blizzard reporting.
They tracked cyclical patterns, finding blizzards peak every 11 to 14 years and cover around 32,000 square miles, or the equivalent of the state of South Carolina.
Researchers found blizzards happen in what they call the "blizzard zone." These counties in the northern Great Plains, Dakotas and western Minnesota average at least one blizzard a year.
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