Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse and Snowzilla are portmanteaus of the word "snow" with either "Armageddon", "Apocalypse" and "Godzilla" respectively. Snowmageddon and Snowpocalypse seem to have first been published in the popular press in Canada during January 2009, and was also used in January 2010 by The Guardian reporter Charlie Brooker on January 16, 2010 in order to describe heavy snowfall across the United Kingdom during the preceding days.