Fact-Check: Old Time-Lapse of a Blizzard in the US Viral as Recent

The video could be traced back to at least January 2016 and is unrelated to the recent blizzard.

Fact-Check | The video has been on the internet since 2016.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A time-lapse clip, which shows an entire area being covered in a thick layer of snow, is going viral on the internet.

The video is being circulated after reports of a blizzard gripping areas of the United States (US) surfaced. The state of New York was heavily impacted by, what the authorities are calling, the "blizzard of the century", leading to the declaration of federal emergency in the state.

NDTV also shared the clip claiming that it shows the impact of the blizzard.

An archive of the post can be seen here.

(Source: NDTV website/Screenshot)

The video shared in the article (archive here) has generated more than 30 lakhs view on Twitter.

(Archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

What is the truth?: The claims are misleading as the video is from 2016 and is unrelated to the recent blizzard.

How did we know?: A keyword search led us to the same video uploaded on an unverified YouTube channel called 'Worse Than Chiggers.'

• It was uploaded on 25 January 2016 and was titled, "Beautiful 48 hour Time-Lapse of Blizzard."

• The description of the video mentioned that the visuals are from northern Virginia in the US and were recorded when the Winter Storm Jonas hit the area between 22 and 24 January 2016.

What is the Winter Storm Jonas?: Also known as Snowzilla, the storm had blanketed the eastern coast in the US. According to reports, it affected more than 85 million people and led to travel bans in parts of the country.

Why is the claim misleading?: Considering the reports of a recent blizzard affecting areas in US, this video is being shared with a caption that said "48 hour time-lapse of Blizzard in 60 seconds", which may mislead the people.

Conclusion: While we could not independently verify the location of the video, it is clear that the clip is old and unrelated to the recent blizzard in the United States.

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