A
winter storm is an event in which the varieties of
precipitation are formed that only occur at low
temperatures, such as
snow or
sleet, or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are low enough to allow
ice to form (i.e.
freezing rain). In temperate continental
climates, these storms are not necessarily restricted to the winter season, but may occur in the late autumn and early spring as well. Very rarely, they may form in summer, though it would have to be an abnormally cold summer, such as the summer of
1816 in the Northeast
United States of America.