Blizzard
(abbrev. BLZD)- A blizzard means that the following conditions are expected to prevail for a period of 3 hours or longer:
Sustained wind or frequent gusts to 35 miles an hour or greater; and
Considerable falling and/or blowing snow (i.e., reducing visibility frequently to less than a ¼ mile)
http://w1.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?letter=b
What it looks like to me is a wet snow fall reportedly accompanied by high winds. That kind of storm, especially with leaves still on the trees, can be more devastating than a blizzard if the weight of the wet snow starts breaking tree limbs and taking down power wires. But just because it's more snow than a particular area usually gets doesn't mean it's a blizzard.
And for other Duer's living in places with generally moderate winters - a "white out" isn't a lot of snow falling or blowing around, it's so much snow falling or blowing around that you literally can't see through your windshield.
See the houses, cars and telephone wires in that photo? The Washington Post may think that's a whiteout, but people around here would call that heavy snow. Because you can still see the houses, cars and telephone wires.
and - "Lake effect" - that is a name assigned exclusively to storms in areas downwind of the Great Lakes. Again, maybe your area got more snow than usual, but that doesn't make it Lake effect.
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