cold snap


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cold snap

A short period of cold temperatures. It was finally beginning to get warm outside when we were hit with a cold snap that damaged my newly blossoming tulips. Workers spent the night soaking the runways with deicer so that flights wouldn't be delayed due to the severe cold snap. Great, all the strawberries are dead on the vine, thanks to that unprecedented cold snap.
See also: cold, snap
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

cold snap

Also, cold spell. A short period of unusually cold weather, as in The recent cold snap has threatened the crop. The first expression presumably likens snap in the sense of "a sudden bite or cut" to sudden unexpected cold. The variant is more obvious, spell having been used in the sense of "a bout or turn at something" since the early 1700s. [Early 1800s]
See also: cold, snap
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive ?
PEAK COULD SEE FIRST SNOW OF AUTUMN AS COLD SNAP BITES By KELLY WILLIAMS Daily Post Chief Reporter kelly.williams@trinitymirror.com SNOWDON will get a sugaring of snow on Friday as the cold snap heads in.
Brace yourselves for some of this..
During my last call to the council I was told to wait until the next cold snap and then ask again for a bin." In her frustration, she wrote to the Observer for help in securing a grit bin.
Big freeze causes havoc for elderly; Villager highlights accidents and quest for grit bin
Matthew Bateman, managing director of Field Operations at British Gas, said: "Our top priority is to help keep our customers' homes and businesses warm, safe and working during the winter months, and as the UK prepares for a cold snap, our engineers are already on standby if anything goes wrong."
Is your home ready for those winter blasts?
Iran is caught by a cold snap in certain regions where temperature has plunged to minus 21 degrees.
Gas Supply Satisfactory Despite Cold Snap
THE nation's most famous amateur weatherman yesterday predicted the current cold snap could last until the end of February.
MICHAEL DELIVERS A CHILLY WARNING; Postie predicts cold spell is set to last for another 6 weeks
A cold snap in early December had growers--par-ticularly those in Oregon--worried that some of the region's newest vineyards may have suffered significant damage.
Northwest growers assess damage from cold spell: temperatures dip below zero in Washington and Oregon winegrowing regions
She said the cold snap and risk of snow will be caused by cold air coming down from the Arctic, and the areas at risk of snow are Scotland, the east coast of England, west Wales, south west England and Northern Ireland.
Get set for a 'dusting' of snow
The research showed that around six in ten small businesses were impacted by the cold snap and that loss of demand (30 per cent) and closures (26 per cent) were the common impacts.
Cold spell proves costly for small businesses
Summary: A snowed in bus has had to be pushed by its passengers in Norwich, as the cold snap gripped the country on Wednesday.
Snowed in! Trapped bus is pushed by passengers in Norwich
SNOW covered a Midland beauty spot yesterday morning as the forecast cold snap hit the region.
Sprinkling of snow for Midland beauty spot
| PARIS, Feb 15 (KUNA) - The Government of President Nicolas Sarkozy has undertaken to review the energy situation here in view of the cold snap that hit Europe over the past two weeks, killing hundreds in Europe and at least 15 in France.
French Cabinet reviews energy priorities in view of cold snap
ROME (TAP) - Italyis set to hold emergency talks aimed at maximising gas supplies to vulnerable households asa cold snap tightened its grip on the country and the death toll rose to 26.
Italy plans emergency talks as cold snap hits
Poland: Europe s vicious cold snap has claimed 62 lives in Poland, with nine new victims in the past 24 hours, police said Monday.
Poland s cold snap death toll hits 62
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