Banshee Blizzards

"The winds are biting, and the chill goes down to your bones, but there are so many familiar faces here, doesn't it feel just like home?"

--Line from a Seated Folk song

In the cold regions of Edda, it's always wise to be wary of the weather, as it has a habit of changing when you are least prepared and assailing you with snow and wind to near fatal measures. But, to be caught in a Banshee Blizzard is to be on the border of life and death, literally and spiritually.
Originating from the Seated Folks term Bean Sí, referring to female spirits that would scream into the night as an omen of family death, these chaotic storms not only increase the harsh conditions of your average blizzard, but summon and empower the spirits of the deceased, who want nothing more than to draw in living souls to join their number. There is some debate as to if this effect is actually magical in origin, or if it's some biological side of the blizzard, but either way the peril is deadly real.

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Manifestation

A Banshee Blizzard begins as just a strong storm, with freezing temperatures, fast winds, and heavy snowfall. However, it eventually escalates to a point of intense hazard, becoming strong enough to break trees, freeze seections of rivers, and cause serious damage to unprepared living creatures. The intensity of the storm, as far as research has gotten, seems to be caused by ruptures in leylines during winter seasons, a common enough occurance that one could liken to getting a papercut or a bruise. But, as the storm grows more volatile, the leylines become more damaged, increasing the storm in turn until the leyline repairs itself.
Then, the supernatural aspects begin, as the rushing wailing of the storm turns into a strange chorus of voices, almost akin to singing. Ghosts and other spectral creatures begin to gather in the location of the blizzard, if their lingering spirits weren't already there. Typically such creatures exist past the ethereal veil, the slim border between life and death persisting, but the common held ideology of the storm claims that the leyline rupture thins that veil as well as provides the spirits themselves with greater mana, giving them more corporeality.
Those who have been out in a Banshee Blizzard and survive speak of old family members, going back generations, beckoning them further into the snows, even when they got safely indoors. Those who have conducted surveys of these individuals believe there is a slight hypnotic aspect to it like a Siren's call, as the victims often speak of feeling a tug at their very soul, believing that they will be nice and warm in the comfort of their family. But, as the leyline heals and the storm passes, so too do the voices, as they reenter their eternal slumber.
Scientific minds claim that it is an aspect of the blizzard itself that creates hallucinations of dearly departed, due to the intense shock of the biting cold and the suddenness of it, as Banshee Blizzards often begin and escalate rapidly. While energy readings during these storms do show an increase of ethereal mana, they posit that the mana only gives their hallucinations definition, rather than their family actually beckoning them towards death. They claim this to be the most logical, as many victims speak of family members who have died and been buried elsewhere around the country, with one surviving victim even being from Agartha, lost on a risky vacation.

Localization

A Banshee Blizzard could, in theory, appear anywhere, as there is nothing about it tied to a single location. However, given the climate and temperature requirements for even a standard blizzard, they tend to occur only in the coldest parts of Edda. Namely, the snowfields of Laputa, the north-most areas of Magnum Opus and Atalanta, and occasionally the peaks of some mountains elsewhere, however the effects there are greatly lessened.
Obviously, the risk increases during winter just about anywhere, as not even the mostly-arid Afallon and Boncly are free from the chills of the season, but the intensity that causes the blizzards in the first case is rarely seen in those areas.

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural