purgan.
/pʊəˈɡɑː/, /ˈpəːɡə/, U.S. /ˈpərɡə/ In the eastern Asiatic tundra, northern and eastern Russia, and Siberia: a violent blizzard of very fine snow. Cf. buran n.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > precipitation or atmospheric moisture > snow > [noun] > the falling of snow > blizzard
purga1824
blizzard1859
buran1886
whiteout1939
1824 J. D. Cochrane Narr. Pedestrian Journey through Russia x. 373 An elevated desert..which we crossed in a continual storm of wind and snow, called in this country purga.
1858 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 28 435 After experiencing a terrible snow-storm, or ‘purga’, they reached the village of Mago on the 18th.
1889 L. F. Gowing Five Thousand Miles in Sledge v. 75 A purga was raging—one of those fierce snowstorms which visit with especial violence the eastern shores of Asiatic Russia.
1977 P. E. Lydolph Geogr. U.S.S.R. (ed. 3) xvii. 377/2 Most of the high winds at Barnaul are associated with cyclonic storms during winter that may produce strong blizzards, the so-called buran or purga.
2004 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 4 Oct. 18 The Purga is a strong north-east wind in Russia which can bring heavy snow or blizzards.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1824