T​his segment originally appeared in today's edition of the Morning Brief newsletter. Sign up here to get weekday updates from The Weather Channel and our meteorologists.

This year’s snowy season has officially arrived and snow drifts will soon be spotted across our snowiest cities across the country. Snow drifts occur when winds blow the snow and a stationary object such as your home or fence stops the snow from traveling farther, and it piles up, creating a mound.

It doesn’t take much wind to carry light, fluffy snow far distances. Snow drifts can be quite dangerous, especially when they occur near roads and obstruct divers’ views.

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(​MORE: The Surprising Benefits Of Walking In the Rain)

Snow drifts can even block traffic. In Minnesota, they have installed “snow fences” that help keep snow drifts from blocking the highway. They say these fences have cut down on snow drifts blocking the road and significantly reduced accidents.

Across the southwest U.S. last week, Winter Storm Anya, a blockbuster snowstorm, shattered records, by dumping feet of snow in some places. You have to imagine with all the snow and wind, there were piles of snow drifts across the region.

J​ennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.