barber n [See quot 1889]
A winter storm in which frozen ice crystals are driven by fierce winds.
1832 McGregor Brit. Amer. 1.133, [Footnote:] The keen north-west wind, during winter, is often called the “Barber” in America. [1889 (1971) Farmer Americanisms, Barber. . . The cold wind . . comes down across the track of a warm wind . . the moisture is instantly condensed to powdery snow, in some instances as sharp as fragments of steel. . . When the vapour is so suddenly condensed as to form sharp spicules, the Canadian voyageurs call it the barber, as it cuts the face like a razor.] 1889 (1968) Reddall Fact 57, Barber. . . A severe storm, accompanied by intense cold, peculiar to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. . . The name is also applied to a phase of cold along the coasts of Nova Scotia and New England. 1982 TWA Ambassador July 47, Barber. A term used in some sections of the United States and Canada to describe a strong wind that carries precipitation that freezes upon contact with objects, especially the beard and hair.