Meaning & use
a snow flurry
Last updated
Meanings
phrasecountable
A short, light burst of snow that stops quickly and usually leaves little or no snow on the ground.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a snow flurry or snow flurries in the plural.
Patterns
- a snow flurry
- snow flurries
- a flurry of snow
A few snow flurries drifted past the window during the afternoon.
The forecast calls for snow flurries overnight, but nothing heavy.
We walked home in a light snow flurry that melted as soon as it touched the road.
phrasecountablefigurative
A brief, sudden burst of activity or emotion, especially one that soon passes.
Grammar: Often used figuratively in a flurry of something, not about weather.
Patterns
- a flurry of something
- in a flurry of excitement
There was a flurry of phone calls after the announcement.
She left in a flurry of excitement and forgot her keys.
A flurry of emails arrived just before the deadline.
Word forms
| plural | snow flurries |
|---|
Common combinations
- light snow flurries
- Light snow flurries are expected in the hills this evening.
- a flurry of snow
- A sudden flurry of snow covered the garden path.
- scattered snow flurries
- Scattered snow flurries will move across the region tonight.
- snow flurries overnight
- Snow flurries overnight may make the roads slippery.
- a flurry of activity
- The office was in a flurry of activity before the visit.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: a snow flurry or blizzard? a snow flurry or sleet?
a snow flurry vs blizzard
A blizzard is a dangerous storm with heavy snow and strong wind; a flurry is brief and light.
a snow flurry vs sleet
Sleet is frozen or partly frozen rain, not soft snowflakes.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'snow flurry' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A flurry is brief and light, so it passes quickly and melts; the other options describe a long storm, deep snow, or an activity that does not fit light snowfall.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a snow flurry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.