2015 Geometric Snowflake Forever First Class Postage Stamps

Description:

Flurries, squalls, snowstorms, nor’easters, snow bursts... all can drop significant amounts of white fluffy precipitation from the sky, but none are blizzards by definition.

To qualify as a blizzard, winds of at least 35 miles per hour must accompany snow falling for at least three straight hours with visibility decreased to under a quarter mile.  Anything less is just snowfall.  But with the right conditions even plain old snowfall can escalate into a full-blown blizzard.

Blizzards are feared not only for the dangerous conditions they create, but also for the aftermath of these brutal storms.  Downed power lines and outages often follow in the wake of a blizzard.  Bitter temperatures and limited heating solutions can cause frozen and burst pipes, leading to flooding and property damage.  Significant snowfall often accompanies these storms, causing roadways to become slippery, obstructed or even completely impassable.  Roofs may collapse under heavy snow and the stress of shoveling has been known to cause heart attacks.

Modern meteorology cannot decrease the severity of blizzards.  But, luckily, the ability to predict such storms can lessen the impact on those stuck in its path.         

Each of the 2015 Snowflake stamps pictures a different type of snowflake in a different color.  They were designed by Antonio Alcalá and Leslie Badani.

This Wonders of America stamp honors Great Basin as the country’s largest desert.

On October 27, 1986, Great Basin National Park was established in Nevada.  The park protects ancient bristlecone pines, Wheeler Peak Glacier, and more.

Some of the earliest-known Paleo-Indians in the Great Basin arrived as early as 10,000 BC.  Archaeological evidence shows the area had regular inhabitants for several thousand years that included the Shoshone, Ute, Mono, and Northern Paiute.

The Fremont Indians, who lived in the Great Basin from about 1000 to 1300 AD, left behind a legacy of rock art in Upper Pictograph Cave.  Within the cave’s walls are several drawings picturing humans, animals, and abstract designs.  Evidence of the Fremont in the region disappeared around 1500 AD, with their departure likely due to the arrival of other tribes.  Among these new tribes were the Shoshone, whose descendants still live