What is "snowmageddon"

Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse, and Snowzilla are portmanteaus of the word "snow" with either " Armageddon", " Apocalypse" and " Godzilla" respectively. Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse seem to have first been published in the popular press in Canada during January 2009, and was also used in January 2010 by The Guardian reporter Charlie Brooker in January 2010, to characterise the sensationalist reaction of television news to a period of snowfall across the UK. The Washington Post, out of Washington, DC, ran an online poll asking for reader feedback prior to the First North American blizzard of 2010 on February 4, 2010, and several blogs, including the Washington Posts own blog, followed that up by using either "Snowmageddon" and or "Snowpocalypse" before, during, and after the storm hit.

The Washington Post also popularized the term "kaisersnoze" (see Keyser Söze) in response to the February snowstorms.

During the evening preceding the first blizzard hitting Washington, DC, most of the United States federal government closed, and press coverage continued to characterize the storm using either "Snowmageddon", "Snowpocalypse", or both. The phrase was later popularized by the President of the United States, Barack Obama, on February 8, 2010, who used the term while speaking at the Democratic National Committee's meeting.

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.