# Snowdrift

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdrift
> Source revision: 1320220630
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{{short description|Snow deposit sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm}}
{{about||the community in the Northwest Territories, Canada formerly known as Snowdrift|Lutselk'e|the problem in game theory|Chicken (game)}}

{{refimprove|date=May 2008}}
thumb|right|Snow drift on the edge of a hill
 
A '''snowdrift''' is a deposit of [snow](/source/snow) sculpted by wind into a mound during a [snowstorm](/source/snowstorm). Snowdrifts resemble [sand dune](/source/sand_dune)s and are formed in a similar manner, namely, by wind moving light snow and depositing it when the wind has virtually stopped, usually against a stationary object. Snow normally crests and slopes off toward the surface on the windward side of a large object. On the leeward side, areas near the object are a bit lower than surrounding areas but are generally flatter.

The impact of snowdrifts on transportation can be more significant than the snowfall itself, such as in the US during the [Great Blizzard of 1978](/source/Great_Blizzard_of_1978). Snowdrifts are usually found at or on roads, as the crest of the roadbed or the [furrows](/source/Furrow_(disambiguation)) along the road create the disruption to the wind needed to shed its carried snow. [Snow fence](/source/Snow_fence)s may be employed on the windward side of the road to intentionally create a drift before the snow-laden wind reaches the road.

==Photo gallery==
<gallery mode=packed style="text-align:left">
File:Long Mynd snowdrift.jpeg|Snowdrift on the [Long Mynd](/source/Long_Mynd), [Shropshire](/source/Shropshire), England, United Kingdom
File:Tall_Snow_Drift_in_Kenosha,_Wisconsin.jpg|A snowdrift blocks a car in [Kenosha](/source/Kenosha%2C_Wisconsin), Wisconsin, United States
</gallery>

==See also==
* [Blizzard](/source/Blizzard)
* [Lake-effect snow](/source/Lake-effect_snow)
* [Big Drift](/source/Big_Drift)
* [Snow removal](/source/Snow_removal)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*  [http://www.emuseum.org/snowdrift.html Snowdrift Exhibit] at [Evansville Museum](/source/Evansville_Museum)
{{Commonscat|Snowdrifts}}

Category:Snow or ice weather phenomena
Category:Aeolian landforms

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Snowdrift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdrift) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowdrift?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.