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10[[quoteright:350:[[Film/ShutterIsland https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/litttle_girl_dachau.png]]]]
11
12->''"Is there anything more sublime than that bold crimson on fresh-fallen snow?"''
13-->-- '''Dr. Stanislaus Braun''', ''VideoGame/Fallout3''
14
15There are many ideas associated with snow: Tranquility, purity, cleanliness, beauty...
16
17So naturally, many people are shown dramatically dying in the snow. It may have something to do with how [[WhiteAndRedAndEerieAllOver red blood contrasts so sharply with white snow]], especially when gentle snowflakes are falling around a scene of carnage. It may have something to do with the way the snow seems to try washing away the unclean corpses and ruins; with snow's natural ability to dampen sound, making a scene [[ItsQuietTooQuiet deathly quiet]]; with how it looks like a beautiful and peaceful way to die, just letting the cold embrace you as you fall asleep; or with how snow melts on living bodies, but coats those that have passed on.
18
19And then there's the {{symbolism}}.
20
21As beautiful as snow is, it also signifies winter, associated with the death of the year (in the temperate latitudes at least), the death of crops, an ice age and the death of the sun. [[SnowedIn Snow also covers the world with a blanket of white]], and in Eastern cultures, white is the color of death (as it was until a few hundred years ago in Slavic states as well).
22
23Whatever the reason, using snow is a great way to portray a character on the verge of dying or a place torn by war in a very artful manner.
24
25A sub-trope of EmpathicEnvironment. Compare SceneryDissonance. For a different interpretation of snow, see SnowMeansLove. See WhiteShirtOfDeath and BloodSplatteredWeddingDress for a similar trope, only applied to clothing instead. May or may not be related to GrimUpNorth, TragicIceCharacter, and WinterOfStarvation.
26
27Not to be confused with SnowyScreenOfDeath.
28
29!!As this is a {{Death Trope|s}}, [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked spoilers abound]]. [[Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned Beware]].
30----
31!!Examples:
32[[index]]
33* SnowMeansDeath/AnimeAndManga
34* SnowMeansDeath/FilmsLiveAction
35[[/index]]
36[[foldercontrol]]
37
38[[folder:Arts]]
39* ''[[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/e6/a2/f5/e6a2f5bb6a28f529be5ecabea6b11dbe.jpg Snowbed]]'' by Aron Wiesenfeld.
40* ''[[http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picture-of-month/displaypicture.aspx?id=287 The Snowdrift]]'' by Victorian sculptor Edward Onslow Ford. A reclinining female nude either asleep or dead in a bank of snow. Because this turned out to be Ford's last work (it was completed posthumously by an anonymous artist) it's often seen as foreshadowing his own early death in 1901 - possibly from suicide, which if it was the case would never have been made public in those days.
41* ''[[https://content.ngv.vic.gov.au/retrieve.php?size=1280&type=image&vernonID=4344 Anguish]]'' by August Friedrich Albrecht Schenck depicts a mother sheep standing over her dead lamb in a field of snow while a [[CreepyCrows murder of crows]] closes in around her. Schenck also painted a complimentary painting, ''[[https://uploads3.wikiart.org/00206/images/august-friedrich-schenck/l-orphelin-souvenir-d-auvergne.jpg The Orphan]]'', depicting a lamb standing by its dead mother in a snowy field surrounded by crows.
42[[/folder]]
43
44[[folder:Comic Books]]
45* See the Question in ''ComicBook/FiftyTwo''. Renee Montoya drags him through the snow trying — and failing — to get him to [[TheShangriLa Nanda Parbat]] before he dies, leaving a question-mark-shaped trail.
46* ''ComicBook/ElfQuest'' has a bloody elf-troll battle in the frozen north.
47* The most famous example of this trope in Argentina is Hector German Osterheld's magnum opus, ''ComicBook/ElEternauta''. There, the first sign of the alien invasion of the Manos and the Ellos is glowing snow that kills on contact with the skin, forcing the protagonist, his friends and family to don radiation suits in order to survive.
48* ''ComicBook/SinCity'': That Yellow Bastard.
49* The trope appears in the final chapters of ''ComicBook/{{Watchmen}}'', for the big reveal on Laurie's past, and the final fate of one of the main characters.
50* ''{{ComicBook/Amulet}}'' has three instances of this:
51** Emily lost her father when their car went over a snowy cliff after an accident.
52** Max was about to die near Korthan when he escaped had he not made a deal with the Voice.
53** Trellis lost his mother while they were living in the middle of a tundra.
54[[/folder]]
55
56[[folder:Fan Works]]
57* In ''Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX'', this trope is fairly prevalent, as some major character deaths occur in the winter:
58** In 20XXI, we have Flandre, who dies of hypothermia, after she sets out to find Chen, who had run away, and, later on, we have Eirin who commits suicide in the winter afterwards. It would be worth noting that Reimu was virtually dying of starvation during the winter before Flandre passed away.
59** In 20XXIV, we have Sakuya's death of radiation sickness occurring in the nuclear winter and later on we have some of Ran's pups dying, as well as the fact that she also miscarries them. On that note, Ran almost died as a result of pregnancy complications during said nuclear winter.
60** Played with to a degree with Ran and Chen during 20XXIV, in that both attempted suicide in the winter at different points but both survived through some intervention, however, though the latter wouldn't have otherwise.
61* ''Webcomic/TheLegendOfGenji'': Avatar Korra's funeral in the prologue is marked with a light snowfall occurring across the globe.
62* In the ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' doujinshii [[http://lillaljuvliga.tumblr.com/post/6318168752/our-house-on-the-big-snowfield-doujin "Our house in the big snow field"]], Ukraine and Belarus's lands are attacked and they have to run away in the middle of the snow. A child!Belarus [[IWillOnlySlowYouDown urges her adult older sister to leave her to die]] since DeathIsCheap for nations, and Ukraine apologizes as she buries her in the snow and keeps running to reach for Russia. She's ultimately caught and cornered by the enemy... and then the trope is subverted as [[SanitySlippage an already unstable]] teenage Russia [[BigDamnHeroes arrives in time to save his sisters's lives]], but does so via a bloody RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the enemy. The three young nations ultimately survive, despite all the BreakTheCutie.
63--->''"As he wept, my sweet little brother swung his sword. He was just like a winter storm... a winter storm that takes everything"''.
64* In ''Fanfic/TheNightUnfurls'', [[spoiler:[[MercyKill Luu]]-[[SacrificialLion Luu]], who [[DyingAsYourself dies as herself]]]], is laid down on the snow-covered ground by Kyril.
65* Narrowly subverted in ''WebVideo/OurTapes''. Mio tries to kill herself on a snowy night but is [[InterruptedSuicide stopped]] by her boyfriend. It then goes for a [[SnowMeansLove different usage of snow]] when he proposes to her.
66* Implied in ''Fanfic/TheOutside'', as, after Rae crashes her mobile home in a tree during a blizzard (why she crashed in the first place), she leaves to head to a town in the distance but she doesn't come back the next day or afterwards. The rest of the story plays with this trope, as Satsuki spends much of the winter critically ill.
67* ''Fanfic/SnowAngel'' is a WhatIf ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' fic of the "What if Maria and Shadow escaped from ARK?" kind. Maria died on a snowy night just before spring began.
68[[/folder]]
69
70[[folder:Films — Animation]]
71* One of the more famous examples is from ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'' in which the title character cries out for his mother during a heavy snowfall after she is shot dead.
72* In ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'', there is snow on the ground when Sitka and Koda's mother meet their ends. More poignant, however, is the scene where Kenai confesses to Koda that it was he who killed the cub's mother, and as he does so, the snowflakes begin falling around them...
73* ''WesternAnimation/TheHunchbackOfNotreDameDisney'''s prologue takes place on a snowy night when Quasimodo's mother is murdered by Judge Frollo at the doorstep of Notre Dame Cathedral and he is forced to raise the orphaned boy as atonement for his sin.
74* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'': It's snowing when [[spoiler:Po's mother gives her life for her infant son.]]
75* In ''Animation/LeafieAHenIntoTheWild'', it starts snowing when [[spoiler:Leafie sacrifices herself so the weasel can feed her young.]]
76* ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'':
77** Used somewhat more literally in when she uses a cannon to start an avalanche and wipe out the Hun army. Mostly.
78--->'''Mushu''': Did you see those Huns?! They popped outta the snow! ''Like daisies!''
79** There's snow on the ground of the massacred village. It also starts snowing after Shang creates a memorial for his father.
80* In ''WesternAnimation/SupermanRedSon'', Svetlana dies in Superman's arms, surrounded by snow.
81* ''WesternAnimation/TheWarToEndAllWarsTheMovie'': The entirety of two armies are buried in an avalanche in the "Soldier of Heaven" sequence, triggered by a failed attempt by a soldier to shoot a rabbit for dinner. Only two Italian skiers, one of them Music/{{Sabaton}} guitarist Chris Rörland as an InkSuitActor, manage to escape alive as the avalanche destroys every army position in its path.
82[[/folder]]
83
84
85[[folder:Literature]]
86!! Authors
87* Creator/StephenKing has used the trope on occasion. In addition to ''Literature/TheShining'' as mentioned above (more so in the book than the film), there is a significant scene in ''Literature/{{IT}}'' when Ben is walking home alone on a very cold and snowy day. He meets Pennywise the Clown in his Mummy guise.
88** ''Literature/OneForTheRoad'' takes place during a heavy blizzard. So does ''Literature/GreyMatter''. The Maine "norther" weather features heavily as a backdrop. Subverted with ''Literature/StrawberrySpring'' wherein it's a mid-winter ''thaw'' that brings death.
89* Creator/TakashiYanase loves this trope and is a [[TheHeroDies common fate for some of his characters]]. A few notable examples:
90** In ''Anime/TheKindlyLion'' (''Yasashii Lion''), after [[InterspeciesAdoption Buru-buru and his adopted mother Muku-muku are killed]] by a group of policeman. [[TogetherInDeath It begins snowing and their bodies end up slowly covered by snow.]]
91** In ''Anime/TheRoseFlowerAndJoe'' (''Bara no hana to Joe''), [[InterspeciesRomance Joe the Dog and a rose flower]] that's implied to be sentient end up dying together by the end of Fall. Joe's body and the rose flower are completely covered in snow by the end of the story. [[BittersweetEnding However, we do see Joe as an angel reuniting with the rose flower and gives it a kiss as they head to heaven.]]
92%% ** In his children's book ''Anime/RingingBell'' (''Chirin no Suzu'') it's implied that [[GruesomeGoat Chirin (now an adult ram)]] [[DyingAlone died alone]] after killing [[GruesomeGoat Woe the wolf]] [[YouKilledMyMother who killed his mother.]]
93
94!!Individual works
95* The death of Snowden obviously had quite the impact on the narrator of ''Literature/CatchTwentyTwo'', so much so that the first page of the book asks the question: "Where are the Snowdens of yesteryear?" (a reference to "Ballad of the Ladies of Bygone Times" by Francois Villon). Snowden's last words are, "It's cold." Considering everyone ''else's'' name is symbolic, it's fair to see this as an example of this trope.
96* In pretty much every adaptation of ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'', there is snow in the churchyard when Scrooge discovers his (future) grave.
97* ''Literature/TheColdMoons'':
98** The book starts at the beginning of spring, however it's still so cold that frost and snow linger. By the end of the first chapter, all of the protagonist's sett (including his mate and their newborn cubs) have been killed in badger cullings.
99** Winter, or "the cold times" as badgers call it, is a dangerous time for all animals, including humans. While most of the badgers survive the wintery part of the journey, along the way they come across many dead animals (including several birds who froze to death overnight while perched).
100* Almost literally in ''Literature/{{Dark Angel|1996}}''; the story is set in Pennsylvania in winter, so it's frequently snowing. While trudging home in the snow at the beginning of the book, Gillian ends up falling into an icy creek and although she's able to drag herself out before she drowns, the freezing temperatures cause her to die from hypothermia; [[SubvertedTrope luckily she gets to come back]], which is how she meets [[GuardianAngel Angel]], although she's still shaken up and ill afterwards.
101* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
102** ''Literature/{{Hogfather}}'': The dark pagan origins of the Hogfather, the local expy of SantaClaus, explain the choice of colours in his clothing: red and white from blood on the snow, ultimately coming from druidic human sacrifices in midwinter to make the sun come back. But ''The Little Match Girl'' version of the trope (above) is deconstructed when Death (who's filling in for the Hogfather) saves the local little match girl, dismissing her death as needlessly cruel, in the midst of his [[{{Deconstruction}} deconstructing]] a number of Christmas tropes.
103** ''Literature/TheLastHero'': During the climax, [[spoiler:a band of geriatric barbarian heroes die by plunging into snow from a ''great'' height while clutching a powerful explosive charge. Or maybe they defy death itself, depending how you look at it. They’ve come to hate those sorts of trope]].
104* ''Literature/ADogOfFlanders'': Nello and Patrasche freeze to death on Christmas Eve.
105* Creator/JamesJoyce's "The Dead" (from ''Literature/{{Dubliners}}'') may end with the definitive example of this trope. As the protagonist slowly drifts to sleep, thinking of the dead man his wife once loved, snow covers his window and his thoughts. The closing line: "His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead."
106* ''Literature/GoblinMarket'': Lizzie reminds her sister of Jeanie, who ate the goblin fruit, but sickened and "fell with the first snow" of winter. (Since Laura has already eaten the fruit, this lets readers know just how much time she has left.)
107* ''Literature/TheGrimroseGirls'': The final fight takes place in a snowy landscape in the dead of winter. It ends in the middle of a frozen lake. The main characters all survive, but the villain dies, complete with blood splattering on the white background.
108* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Harry visits his parents' graves for the first time in ''Deathly Hallows'', accompanied by Hermione. It so happens that they do this in December and the graveyard is covered in snow. Harry, of course, cries.
109* ''Literature/HerMothersHope'': After Marta's mother finally succumbs to her long-term illness, her emotionally unstable sister, Elise, commits suicide by walking to a nearby meadow and laying down in the snow until she freezes to death
110* ''Literature/TheHungerGames'': It is mentioned that several tributes froze to death one year because they hadn't been provided with any means of making fires which would have kept them warm.
111* ''Literature/TheLittleMatchGirl'', which makes [[TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth dying from cold and starvation lovely, glorious]], and filled with so much {{Glurge}}.
112* In ''Literature/MissSmillasFeelingForSnow'', Smilla sees Isaiah's body in the snow, and her description of his funeral is punctuated by her observations about the snowfall. Of course, the book takes place in Denmark, it's winter, and the narrator is a bit obsessed with snow in general.
113* ''Literature/MadgieWhatDidYouDo'':
114** This is {{justified|Trope}} in ''Nuclear Snow'' (in which it's mentioned that the snow causes burns and is dangerous to those not immune to its effects) and in ''Madgie's winter'' (in which the winds turn the snowflakes into "glass shards" during blizzards, the effects of which kill Madgie).
115** In ''Bloodied Snow Angel'', this is something of an odd case, as the winter (or rather the snow) came after someone died in during a war. Similarly, ''The Winter's Blood Red Sky'' has a war taking place in the winter.
116** ''Snow Angel'' has the titular "snow angels"[[note]]vampires as a result of government experiments related to the survival of a nuclear winter[[/note]] -- one of which is Toki -- being mentioned to have died from the effects of their transformation. While we don't know ''exactly'' how Madgie died, we do know that it wasn't nice.
117** In ''"It looked like falling snow..."'', Madgie and Eglantine succumb to radiation sickness during the winter, with the former dying at the beginning of it.
118** ''Broken Wings'' has Doki dying of terminal illness and kidney failure during a winter. Earlier, she stops at a graveyard; later, Jinx talks about his deceased girlfriend Olga and how to her, the snow seemed to "sparkle".
119* In ''My Ántonia'', Mr. Shimerda commits suicide during his first Nebraskan winter.
120* ''Literature/RaptorRed'' and her pack encounter a whip-tailed sauropod on a snowy mountain near the end of the book. It does not end well.
121%%* As already mentioned, Malot's ''Literature/SansFamille'' has Jolie-Coeur and Mr. Vitalis.
122* In ''Literature/SeekerBears'', Kallik had always thought that snow meant plenty of food (especially [[TrademarkFavoriteFood seals]]). But then she learns from Toklo that for the other bears, snow means less food.
123* In Creator/AEHousman's ''A Shropshire Lad'', the poem "Bredon Hill" has shades of this: "But when the snows at Christmas On Bredon top were strown, My love rose up so early And stole out unbeknown, And went to church alone."
124* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': "[[AStormIsComing Winter is coming]]" is the motto of House Stark, ruler of the almost perpetually [[GrimUpNorth frozen North]]. Not only the North is a generally harsh place to live, but there's also the menace of the long-disappeared Others, the [[ZombieApocalypse living dead]]. Said Others happen to bring harsh winter for ''generations'' and [[FromBadToWorse seasons can already last for years]] in Westeros. Small wonder that when Jon [[MeaningfulName Snow]] introduces himself to wildling woman Ygritte, she remarks he has an evil name.
125* ''Literature/TheStateCounsellor'': The first paragraph describes the icy snowbound Russian steppe the train is going through as "Nothing but snow, nothing but the wild whistling of the wind, the low, murky sky—darkness, cold, and death." Sure enough, Khrapov gets murdered at the end of the first chapter, the PlotTriggeringDeath that starts the story.
126* ''Literature/SweetPiglet'': After its master dies, it is implied the titular piglet [[spoiler:dies at the beginning of winter]].
127* In "Literature/ToBuildAFire" by Creator/JackLondon, the main character gradually falls asleep in the snow after his fire is put out and dies of hypothermia.
128* ''Literature/WarriorCats'':
129** In ''Bluestar's Prophecy'', one of Bluefur's kits, Mosskit, freezes to death in the snow when Bluefur is taking them to Riverclan to stay with their father, Oakheart.
130** In general, "leaf-bare" is the toughest season for all the Clans. Cats, being warm-weather animals, don't do particularly well in snowy forests. In chapters set in winter, food is frequently short (leading to starvation) and many characters die of "green-cough"/pneumonia.
131* ''Literature/WhileMyPrettyOneSleeps'':
132** The novel takes place in late March and early April and it's noted by several characters that it's unusually cold for spring; it's still freezing out and it snows heavily at the start of the story. This becomes a plot point, as Ethel Lambston's body is better preserved than usual due to the cold temperatures, allowing for more evidence to be gathered. Neeve also picks up on the fact that despite the chilly weather, Ethel didn't take any of her winter coats when she supposedly left town, convincing her there's something off about Ethel's disappearance from the start.
133** Renata Kearny was murdered on a bleak, snowy afternoon in November of 1971, as she was on her way to pick up her daughter from school. Myles noted that the white of the snow made the blood from her slashed throat stand out even more. Because it was so cold out, there were also few people in Central Park, so there were no witnesses to the crime either.
134* "Literature/TheWitch1896": The witch arrives at the home in the winter, with a carpet of snow outside and a sharp wind blowing. In so many words, she argues that she'll perish if she won't be let it. But by saving her, it is possible that the homeowner brought upon their own end.
135[[/folder]]
136
137[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
138* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': {{Inverted|Trope}} when Angel's First Evil-inspired attempt to kill himself is foiled by an inexplicable snowstorm in southern California.
139* ''Series/ColdCase'': The climactic death scenes on several episodes. Very tragically, the victims succumbed to hypothermia after having been previously injured and thus passing out in the snow.
140* ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'': The [[SuddenDownerEnding final episode]] has the dinosaur civilization being wiped out by an ice age, and ends with a shot of snow slowly burying the Sinclairs' home.
141* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
142** The Cybermen gatecrash a funeral in the snow in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E14TheNextDoctor "The Next Doctor"]].
143** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime "The End of Time"]]: After he has seen Rose in a beautiful white snow scene punctuated with multicolored string lights, the Tenth Doctor struggles over to the TARDIS for his regeneration while the Ood begin to sing to him.
144* ''Series/EastEnders'' naturally combines this with SoaplandChristmas on multiple occasions. The most straightforward example was the death of Pauline Fowler on Christmas Day 2006: she walked out into the snow, suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage, and collapsed in the middle of Albert Square.
145* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':
146** Two episodes occur on an ice planet: during these two episodes, Aeryn drowns when her ejector seat lands in a frozen lake, Diagnosan Tocot is killed by a Scarran operative in the cryogenics facility, two Peackeepers are shot in the frozen corridors... finally, the Scarran agent himself ventures out into a blizzard, only to be shot repeatedly by the resurrected Aeryn and stabbed to death with an icicle.
147** Averted in any episodes that take place in [[RealityWarper Einstein's]] [[EldritchLocation dimension]], which is essentially a large iceberg floating in a sea of wormholes. In the first visit Einstein does warn Crichton that he might be forced to kill him, but most of the carnage of that episode takes place in the thoroughly non-snowy [[AlternateUniverse Unrealised Realities]] Einstein displays.
148* ''Series/FatherTed'': Spoofed.. It snows the night before Father Jack's funeral. Ted gives a monologue about how it's snowing all over the island. On all the living, and the dead... Then [[NotQuiteDead Father Jack]] tells him to Shut the feck up.
149* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': Tracey's funeral. It's also a meta-example, since it was also the very last scene shot [[ScrewedByTheNetwork for the entire series]].
150* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
151** The White Walkers seem to bring the cold with them.
152** Jon Snow dies while it was snowing, making his name poignant.
153** Summer was killed by White Walkers, who are associated with winter.
154* ''Series/GeneralAndI'': It starts to snow when Bei Jie (apparently) kills Ping Ting.
155* ''Series/JoanOfArc'' (the miniseries starring Creator/LeeleeSobieski): It begins to snow at Joan's execution. Notable because her burning took place in the middle of May.
156* ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'': The brutal, bloody final battle happens on the snowy slopes of Mount Kuro.
157* ''Series/TheKingLoves'': It starts to snow during the attack on San's family and their entourage, when her mother and most of their servants are killed.
158* ''Series/MahouSentaiMagiranger'': After Miyuki Ozu's supposed death, snow fell.
159* ''Series/MoonLovers'': It's snowing when Myung-hee dies.
160* ''Series/Mouse2021'': The first on-screen murders happen while it's snowing heavily.
161* In ''Series/{{Pagten}}'', the ice witch Iselin, obviously, is associated with snow, and freezes her victims to ice.
162* ''Series/QueerAsFolkUS'': Brian's dad's funeral.
163* ''Series/TheRiseOfPhoenixes'': It starts to snow just before Zhi Wei's suicide.
164* ''Series/{{Rubicon}}'': David's funeral in the first episode.
165* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Jonathan Kent's funeral.
166* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "Timeless", ''Voyager'' crash-lands on a frozen planet after dropping out of the quantum slipstream, killing everybody on board, and is found 15 years later buried in a glacier.
167* ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' and Gabrielle on a snow capped mountain in season 4.
168-->''"Was it snowing on Mt. Amaro?"''
169* ''Series/{{Yellowjackets}}'': In the Season 1 finale, [[Recap/YellowjacketsS1E10SicTransitGloriaMundi Sic Transit Gloria Mundi]] one of the girls spends the night outside the cabin. The next morning, she is found frozen to death after the first night of snow in the months the survivors have been in the wilderness.
170
171[[/folder]]
172
173[[folder:Music]]
174%%* The song "Tuonela", by Music/{{Amorphis}}, deals with this theme.
175* In the music video for "You're Beautiful" by Creator/JamesBlunt, the singer commits suicide while it's snowing around him.
176* It's cold when the narrator of Music/BrokenIris' song "A New Hope" [[GriefSong visits his lover's grave]].
177-->Gust of freezing cold air whispers to me you're gone
178* In the festive TearJerker "The Cat Carol", a homeless cat encounters "a poor little mouse" on a snowy Christmas Eve. The two animals take shelter in a hollow which the cat digs in the snow, where they are later found by Santa and his reindeer. By then, however, the cat has frozen to death, though the mouse, kept warm in the cat's fur, has survived.
179* "Avalanche" by Music/CellarDarling.
180-->Cover me with snow\
181Freeze me to death\
182Forever I'll lay in the alpine bed\
183Seasons will change\
184But I shall remain\
185Stripped bare of my coat\
186I will rest in peace
187* The folk song "Darcy Farrow," most famously covered by Music/JohnDenver, regarding the young maiden Darcy Farrow and her suitor Vandamere:
188-->... she promised to wed before the snows came that year \
189But her pony did stumble and she did fall\
190Her dyin' touched the hearts of us one and all\
191Young Vandy in his pain put a bullet through his brain\
192And we buried them together as the snows began to fall
193* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7LexNBv0mI "My Last Breath"]] by Evanescence
194* From the Music/FleetFoxes song White Winter Hymnal:
195--> ...and Michael, you would fall/ and turn the white snow red/ as strawberries in summer...
196* "White Mountain" by Music/{{Genesis|Band}}, which takes place in a forest in the middle of a snowstorm: "Dawn saw the white mountain tinted with red."
197* "A Dark Congregation" by The Hush Sound mentions mourners throwing roses onto a snowy grave.
198* In the video for Music/{{Madonna}}'s "Oh Father", the death of the girl's mother takes place in winter.
199* The classic French pop song "Les Neiges du Kilimandjaro": "[The snow] will make you a white blanket/Where you will soon be able to rest" (implying that the "rest" in question is of the eternal kind).
200* "[[DespairEventHorizon End of All Hope]]" by Music/{{Nightwish|Band}} has this line:
201-->Deathbed is slowly covered with snow
202* "The Blizzard" as sung by Jim Reeves makes explicit one reason why snow is often a death symbol among those who know it: "There's a blizzard coming on, how I'm wishing I was home, for my pony's lame, and he can hardly stand. Listen to that norther sigh, if we don't get home we'll die. But it's only seven miles to Mary Ann's."
203* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEfeTmma4gI official lyric video]] for ''Nachts weinen die Soldaten'', by Music/{{Saltatio Mortis}}, features this from start to finish.
204* Roman, the 5th album in ''Music/SoundHorizon'' is all about this trope given the main character Hiver died as a stillborn baby in winter.
205* Music/{{Vocaloid}}: "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH92A1du050 soundless voice]]", "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-TJBdRV76I proof of life]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBk1CJYzktA endless wedge]]" all feature snow in their [=PVs=]... because of Rin Kagamine tragically dying. To say this series is sad is a ''[[TearJerker very]]'' gross understatement.
206* "South Side of the Sky" by Music/{{Yes}}, about a party of mountain climbers that freeze to death.
207* The video for Music/BeastInBlack's "Blind and Frozen" depicts a woman in an EtherealWhiteDress moving through a snowy castle, ending on her frozen corpse lying in a bed.
208* Music/{{Sabaton}}:
209** "Talvisota", titled after the Finnish name for the Winter War: fought during one of the 20th century's coldest winters, use of snow camouflage by Finnish ski troops, resulted in defeat of superior numbers of Soviet troops unprepared for winter conditions.
210** "Ruina Imperii", covering the [[FatalForcedMarch Carolean Death March]] home across the winter of 1709-10 after the death of UsefulNotes/CarolusRex at Fredriksten, and the fall of the Swedish Empire.
211** "White Death": the Finnish sniper UsefulNotes/SimoHayha in the Winter War.
212** [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in "Christmas Truce", where snowfall signifies the beginning of Christmas and the (temporary) end of the fighting.
213** [[https://youtu.be/LYI3eegIJlI "Soldier of Heaven"]] is about the Alpine front in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI (that is, Italy v. Austria-Hungary), and more specifically about "White Friday", an incident on 13 December 1916 when thousands of soldiers on both sides were killed in avalanches--many of which were deliberately set off by artillery fire.
214--->''I won't be coming home\
215I won't be going anywhere\
216I will guard this post forever\
217Here on the alpine slope, where I did my final stand I shall remain\
218Among the ice and snow that binds me to this mountain''\
219[[/folder]]
220
221[[folder:Myths & Religion]]
222* In Myth/NorseMythology, [[{{Gotterdammerung}} Ragnarok]] will be preceded by the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fimbulwinter the Fimbulvetr]], or "terrible winter", a years-long snowfall that will exterminate life on Earth.
223* [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese legend]] speaks of the {{Yukionna}}, a female snow spirit that appears during the snow storm and leads travellers astray to die of exposure. Sometimes she ''might'' spare them, and once she fell for a young man and married him... but once he discovered her identity, she left in the middle of a snow storm.[[note]] Like a lot of myths and legends it varies. One story says she just melted into a puddle another claims that she spared him again since [[LoopholeAbuse technically he didn’t reveal her identity to another person but to her]], though she threatened to kill him if he ever mistreated their children and lucky for him he was already a caring father.[[/note]] It seems she's the Japanese myth version of The Snow Queen.
224* [[Myth/GreekMythology The Greeks]] gave us Persephone, daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest), who either was kidnapped by her uncle Hades to be his bride in the Underworld or offered herself to as his bride to escape her mother's smothering and grab power for herself. The rules stated that anyone who ate in the kingdom of death would be trapped there, so even though her mother successfully sued for her return, she had to spend some time there, having eaten some pomegranate seeds (four, five, seven, or eight; it varies), whether tricked by Hades so she'd be forced to stay, or by her own will to prove to her mother that she had chosen Hades' realm. So each year she returns, and each time she does, Nature dies. Thus winter. When she comes back, Nature thrives. Thus spring.
225** In most parts of ancient Greece, they considered Persephone to be gone during the hot, droughty summer, returning during the rainy winter.
226* An older JustSoStory much like the Persephone myth existed in the Myth/MesopotamianMythology. The gist was the same, except instead of a grieving mother, there was a grieving wife. The goddess Inanna, upon escaping from her sister's clutches in the underworld, had to choose someone else in the living world to replace her in the underworld. She chose her husband, Dumuzid, because he did not grieve over her during her absence. She came to regret this, however, and decreed that Dumuzid would be resurrected for half a year, but he must die the other half of the year. Inanna's joy during Dumuzid's visit caused summers, while her grief during his absence caused winters.
227* Researchers of Myth/SlavicMythology believe that the winter was together with death and nightmares a domain of the goddess Morana, in a rather clear association of the snowy season with death in the mind of an inhabitant of central-eastern region of Europe. Inversely, coming of spring was (still is) celebrated with drowning an effigy thought to represent her.
228* In the myth of Saint Eulalia of Barcelona, when she finally died after all the ColdBloodedTorture she was subjected to, among other alleged miracles snow fell on her torn and mangled corpse to cover it from her executioners's eyes.
229* Myth/AztecMythology features Itzlacoliuhqui, a god of frost, winter, and death who could cause crop failure during the harvest season, particularly for frost-sensitive maize. The Aztecs believed that the dying-off associated with winter was necessary to make room for new life in the spring, the time of the year that crops were sown. Itzlacoliuhqui's name can alternately be translated as "curved obsidian blade" or "plant-killing frost."
230[[/folder]]
231
232[[folder:Roleplay]]
233* In a dramatic moment on ''Roleplay/NoPixel'', it starts snowing during [[https://clips.twitch.tv/SmokyMushyTomatoPupper Deputy Dias' final radio call]] at his funeral service.[[note]]This actually happened thanks to sheer unscripted serendipity; the automatic [[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV in-game]] snow animation coincidentally kicked on at the exact perfect moment.[[/note]]
234[[/folder]]
235
236[[folder:Theatre]]
237* The largely forgotten musical ''Theatre/{{Tenderloin}}'' has a song called "Artificial Flowers" about a poor flower girl who freezes to death while trying to sell her artificial flowers to wealthy theatre-goers. The song later achieved a degree of fame when it was recorded by Music/BobbyDarin.
238-->''They found little Annie all covered in ice\
239Still clutchin' her poor frozen shears\
240Amidst all the blossoms she had fashioned by hand\
241And watered with all her young tears.''
242[[/folder]]
243
244[[folder:Video Games]]
245* The final mission in ''VideoGame/AceCombatZeroTheBelkanWar'' takes place on New Year's Eve over the Avalon Dam, in the GrimUpNorth of Belka. A snowstorm kicks up right after [[spoiler: your wingmate PJ is suddenly killed by former wingmate turned FinalBoss, Pixy.]] The FinalBoss even [[LampshadeHanging calls attention to it.]]
246--> '''[[spoiler:Pixy:]]''' Here comes the snow...
247* In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', it is discussed by ComicBook/TheJoker when Batman, infected with the clown's poisoned blood, approaches the Steel Mill for a second time on his search for the cure. In his intercom speech, the Clown Prince of Crime says he's locked the Steel Mill, then says something along the lines of, "I dread having the thought of you lying dead in the sno-[[EvilLaugh ho-ho-ho-ho-hoooooooowwwwwwww]]. [[BlackComedy That truly brings a smile to my face!]]" Given that it's winter in Arkham City, he seems to be making a point about it.
248* ''VideoGame/{{Blasphemous}}'': The Graveyard of the Peaks is a large, snowy mountain and the first part of the long and arduous pilgrimage partaken by the women who wish to join the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage. Most of them die a terrible death to either hypothermia, starvation or exhaustion and their frozen corpses can be found all over the mountain range.
249* ''VideoGame/BravelyDefault'': The [[GhostTown Gravemark Village]] located in the snowy continent of [[GrimUpNorth Eternia]] is exactly WhatItSaysOnTheTin. What remains of the settlement is a cemetery and a lone hut where a trio of old foggies live. One of them explains that The Great Plague from some years ago killed almost all inhabitants and the village was quarantined by the [[PathOfInspiration Crystal Orthodoxy]] to prevent the malaise from reaching the rest of Eternia. Edea's parents, Braev and Mahzeer, hail from this place. It is theorized by the old man that Braev's support of the Anticrystallism movement is the result of the Orthodoxy sacrificing his hometown to protect the rest of the continent.
250* The broken heart of Literature/TheSnowQueen threatens to turn the world to ice in the third game of the ''VideoGame/DarkParables'' series.
251* ''VideoGame/FatalFrameIII'': The Manor of Sleep is perpetually snowy, filled with the deceased spirits of loved ones and hostile ghosts.
252* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
253** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'', Aerith's human father Professor Gast was killed by his old teammate Hojo and his Shinra forces when he tried to protect his Cetra wife Ifalna and an infant Aerith. This happened in a now-abandoned house located in [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Icicle_Inn a permanently snowy village]], on the frozen area of the Northern Continent.
254** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX'': During the last part of Yuna's pilgrimage, the group visits Mt. Gagazet. The snow-covered, towering mountain and home of the [[BeastMan Ronso]] is considered sacred ground and is dotted by several makeshift monuments dedicated to all the summoners whose journeys met an abrupt end in the frozen peaks. The heroes also fight the third incarnation of [[BigBad Seymour Guado]] after he killed all the Ronsos that attempted to stop him from pursuing Yuna and co.
255** In ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'', the first big WhamEpisode occurs at the snowy Ziekden Fortress. [[spoiler:Argath resolves a hostage situation involving Delita's younger sister Tietra by murdering her in cold blood, sending Delita down the path that would lead him to become king of Ivalice and the public hero of the War of the Lions.]]
256* ''Franchise/FireEmblem'':
257** This can happen in any game that includes snow-covered stages, if the player loses a character there.
258** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', Erinys's sister Annand is killed during a battle in the snow.
259** Since [[spoiler: Canas]] is DoomedByCanon in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'', his ending says that he [[spoiler: and his wife]] died trying to protect a village from a snowstorm, [[spoiler: so their son Hugh (who appears in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBindingBlade'') is raised by Canas' mother Niime (ditto).]]
260** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemEchoesShadowsOfValentia'', it snows as [[spoiler: Emperor Rudolf is slain by Alm and LaResistance.]]
261* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'':
262** In ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'', when CJ returns to Liberty City later in the game, he shows some Italian mobsters how to have fun in the snow, Grove Street style.
263** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' visits the snowy state of North Yankton during the Prologue and "Bury the Hatchet". In the former, Michael, Trevor, and Brad gun down a large number of state police after a heist gone wrong and Michael [[FakingTheDead fakes his death]], while in the latter, Brad, who was shot and allegedly arrested during the getaway, [[DeadAllAlong is revealed to have died from his injury]] and buried in Michael's place.
264* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', The spell that grants Baldur nigh invulnerability and immortality is broken and Kratos proceeds to kill him permanently when the former attempts to kill Freya. In his last moments, he notes the snow falling on his face, showing relief in being able to physically feel his surroundings again one last time.
265* ''VideoGame/IAmSetsuna'' takes place in an entire world of snow, where the titular Setsuna must travel to the end of the world to sacrifice herself in order to stop an influx of monsters. The themes of the game involve death, sacrifice, and [[TheAntiNihilist using what time you have to benefit the world]].
266* In ''VideoGame/KessenII'', if you beat the final stage of Liu Bei's scenario, Cao Cao is seen dying in the snow, with Diao Chan kneeling beside him. Though, there was never any snow on the battlefield before or after this sequence.
267* ''VideoGame/LisaThePainfulRPG'': The Snow Mountain is a region visited later in the game ans is the turf of Buffalo Van Dyke, one of the Warlords of Olathe. As the mountain is climbed, weird stuff can be seen on the snow like faces and arms with the same color. At the top of the mountain, a huge pile of white bodies is found seemingly implying this place is used to dispose of corpses via cremation and that the "snow" falling is in fact the ash of the burning bodies. This is supported by the fact there's a ManOnFire running around this area. Most likely he was victim is a premature cremation.
268* In ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' the Normandy [=SR1=] crashes onto the surface of an ice planet; in one of the DLC missions you can revisit the wreckage and walk through a chillingly beautiful snowscape littered with debris from the original Normandy while collecting the dogtags of soldiers lost in the crash and placing a memorial statue to commemorate the ship.
269** It's not ''actually'' snow, but the way Shepard catches falling particles of the Genophage cure in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' is clearly meant to evoke this as a memorial to [[HeroicSacrifice Mordin]], [[IncurableCoughOfDeath Eve]], and/or [[YouBastard the hopes and dreams of a species]], depending on your choices during Priority: Tuchanka.
270* OneManArmy ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' goes on his killing rampage while snow constantly falls down around him. He briefly goes on another killing spree in the snow during ''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'', and even takes the time to visit his wife and daughter's grave in between the action.
271* White Len, the "evil" counterpart to Len in ''VideoGame/MeltyBlood'', specifically makes her zone snow with her dream powers.
272* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'':
273** Sniper Wolf is fought and killed by Snake in a snowy field in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', though the initial fights against Vulcan Raven and Liquid Snake, which also take place out in the snow, subvert this due to them surviving.
274** Crying Wolf in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' is killed on the [[ContinuityNod exact same snow field that Sniper Wolf died on nine years earlier]].
275* The Graveyard of the Giants from ''VideoGame/LaMulana''. Whereas its frontside counterpart, the Mausoleum of Giants, gives a romanticized take on the Giant's doomed ply to help Mother to return to the skies, the Graveyard of the Giants shows the ugly truth of what truly happened: after they failed their mission, Mother created a new generation of children who quickly chased the colloosi into the frozen caverns where, overcome by sorrow, they all perished.
276* Snow rather literally means death for ''everyone'' in ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles: Dire Grove'', where an ancient curse is going to freeze the entire world if it can't be stopped.
277* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'': "For the first time in 120 years, snow had fallen on Santa Destroy." And that night, two things happen: One, [[BossOnlyLevel Travis fights Skelter Helter to death as soon as the game begins]], putting him back to the assassination games against his will. And two, [[SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome Travis' best friend is killed by a mob hired by the game's villain]].
278* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Phantasmat}} Phantasmat: Crucible Peak]]'', the player finds themselves in a resort that was emptied due to an unforseen avalanche. It turns out that Otto, one of the people you meet in the game, caused the avalanche via explosion.
279* Rymrgand, God of Entropy in ''VideoGame/PillarsOfEternity'', who is worshiped in the Antarctica-esque White that Wends and [[TheDreaded feared]] everywhere else. He is associated with blizzards and winter in addition to entropy, manifests as a giant aurochs surrounded by perpetual freezing winds, and his realm is a wintry plane where souls are [[DeaderThanDead ground into soul-stuff and annihilated]].
280* ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonAndTheUnwoundFuture'': It begins snowing just after [[spoiler: Claire returns to 10 years in the past to die in the lab explosion]].
281* ''VideoGame/{{Relicta}}'': Laia and her team all freeze to death while Angelica is in the Relicta; Angelica finds their frozen bodies.
282* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'': This is one of the few [[OurVampiresAreDifferent twists]] that the game puts on its vampire lore, which otherwise hews as closely to the ClassicalMovieVampire as it can while still technically remaining grounded in science. Lady Dimitrescu's three "daughters" are vulnerable to the cold weather outside the castle, and you make use of this during the boss fights against them, opening the windows to weaken them and leave them vulnerable. [[SubvertedTrope Dimitrescu herself isn't vulnerable]], though, as there are some differences with her biology compared to her daughters.
283%%ZCE* ''Franchise/SilentHill'':
284* The winter level in ''VideoGame/{{Smallworlds}}''. [[spoiler: While no actual bodies are found, it's revealed to be a nuclear winter.]]
285* Averted repeatedly in ''VideoGame/StarStealingPrince''. The entire game takes place on a perpetually snowy island, and the main character nearly dies in the middle of the forest near the start of the game, but ultimately makes it through. Other than that, [[spoiler: Snowe's parents are instead killed on a floating island paradise completely void of snow, and the bad ending where a possessed Snowe kills everyone happens on a ship fleeing the island (where, if you wanted to interpret the trope differently, Snowe really ''did'' mean death.)]] Then again, as you start uncovering people's backstories, you start finding out that the island has had a very dark and bloody history, possibly making it an indirect use of this trope.
286* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
287** [[http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/arcade/a/sf3-3nec.htm Necro and Effie]] barely avert the trope in Necro's ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII Third Strike'' ending. They're on the roof of a running train that travels through a snowy steppe and near a cliff, and they [[SuicidalGotcha jump off to avert the Illuminati members following them]]. Effie, however, almost falls ''into'' the cliff itself; Necro uses his RubberMan powers to catch her just in time and, as the two get away safely, this trope goes into SnowMeansLove...
288** In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', this almost happened to Kolin in the past, according to the Story Mode. During what's all but stated to be the collapse of the Soviet Union, the girl who would grow into Kolin lost absolutely everything: her homeland, her family and her friends. She fell through the DespairEventHorizon and decided to let herself die in a blizzard, and then was saved and taken in by [[TheFundamentalist Gill]].
289* ''VideoGame/SunsetOverImdahl'' takes place over the course of four seasons. Spring and summer are relatively cheerful, fall is when ThePlague hits, and winter is when [[EverybodysDeadDave nobody's left to clear the snow out of the streets]].
290* ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'': Zelos gives a detailed account of his childhood, culminating in him witnessing his mother's murder in the snow.
291* ''VideoGame/ThisWarOfMine'': If the player does not build a heater when winter arrives, the survivors will die from the cold.
292* ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Yuyuko is the Ghost Princess of the Netherworld and has the ability to induce death. Naturally, one of the things associated with her is snow, with her game taking place during a long winter. Even the weather effect assigned to her in ''Scarlet Weather Rhapsody'' is snow.
293* Red is able to invoke this near the end of ''VideoGame/{{Transistor}}'', getting admin privileges to a [[WeatherControlMachine Weather Control Terminal]] that allows her to make it snow [[spoiler: after the Process have pretty much wiped out all of Cloudbank.]]
294* In the short adventure game ''VideoGame/UlitsaDimitrova'', the IdleAnimation is first a yawn, followed by a shiver, and falling asleep on the ground, before a localized snowfall starts. [[DownerEnding That's the only ending.]]
295* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': TheUndead Scourge make their base in the frozen north and are thematically linked to ice and cold, doubling as EvilIsDeathlyCold.
296[[/folder]]
297
298[[folder:Visual Novels]]
299* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'':
300** Elise Deauxnim, best known as Misty Fey, Mia and Maya's mother, in the fifth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorneyTrialsAndTribulations''.
301** The series has a few cases set in the snowbound winter, and since Phoenix's cases are AlwaysMurder...
302* After the final battle results in a fistfight in the artic between Wilhelm and Ludwig, ''VisualNovel/DiesIraeInterviewWithKazikluBey'' ends with [[spoiler:[[LoveTriangle their love interest]] Claudia experiencing an out of control Creation Figment that ends up claiming her life in her attempts to stop it. This leaves Wilhelm lying bloodied, bruised and alone in the snow, unable to do anything but bitterly laugh at how this sick joke of a love story turned out]].
303* In ''VisualNovel/KanaLittleSister'', in one of the many endings that feature her death, Kana tells her brother that she will make it snow when she dies. And of course, [[TearJerker the moment it starts to snow she's dead.]]
304* The prologue of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'' initially appears to be SnowMeansLove. The main character, Hisao, meets his {{High School Sweetheart|s}} on a snowy day for a confession of love. Unknown to anyone, [[HeartTrauma he has cardiac arrhythmia and the excitement brings on a heart attack]]. He barely survives, but his old life is over.
305[[/folder]]
306
307[[folder:Web Animation]]
308* ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle'': The episode "[[Manga/{{Berserk}} Guts]] VS [[VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses Dimitri]]" takes place in a snowy field surrounded by mountains. Throughout the fight, there are many shots of each fighter's red blood splashing onto the white snow, until Guts eventually runs out of the stuff and dies. The death is also portrayed as more serene than usual for this show, with him [[DiedStandingUp dying while still standing up]], seemingly frozen in place before the full moon, and Dimitri swears to keep Guts' soul safe from the God Hand.
309* In ''WebAnimation/DearRabbit'', the wolf kills the rabbit in the snow.
310* ''WebAnimation/{{Dinosauria}}''; the second short "Our Frozen Past" takes place in the middle of the arctic winter 69 million years ago, [[spoiler: and one of the troodontid chicks is killed an eaten by a ''Nanuqsaurus'']].
311* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
312** The Kingdom of Atlas is situated on the polar continent of Solitas, and the cold of the snow-covered tundras is explicitly noted to be lethal in a matter of hours to anyone without [[DeflectorShields Aura]] or heating. This is bad news for [[spoiler:''the entire city of Mantle'' when [[TheHacker Dr. Watts]] shuts down the municipal heating grid to further destabilize the kingdom.]] As the situation rapidly deteriorates into [[spoiler: riots and a full-scale Grimm invasion of Mantle]], snow starts gently drifting down.
313** The fight that costs [[spoiler:[[TheAce Clover Ebi]]]] his life takes place on a featureless stretch of snowy tundra, with his blood dramatically splattering across the snow after the lethal blow is struck.
314[[/folder]]
315
316[[folder:Webcomics]]
317* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'': When Agatha and co. come out the other side of the Queen's Mirror that was under the Red Cathedral they find themselves in winter in the mountains surrounded by deep constant snow. Martellus instantly goes on a murder spree through the fortress they're in and later Higgs and Dupree slaughter a bunch of Martellus' spark hounds in the snow, where there bloody corpses are set upon by crows.
318* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'': When the deceased Vriska and [[BadFuture alt!John]] [[http://mspaintadventures.com/scratch.php?s=6&p=005785 meet for the first time]] in a dream bubble memory, they are outside John's house in winter with a light snowfall ongoing. In this case, ''both'' of them are dead.
319** Aversion too; Jade dies well after her land thaws, despite it initially having been covered in the stuff.
320* In ''Webcomic/{{Megatokyo}}'', snow begins to fall just as Miho prepares to meet her death.
321* During Aggie's NearDeathExperience dream in ''Webcomic/PennyAndAggie'', snow falls. This is significant in that we never otherwise see snow in the comic.
322* ''Webcomic/SlightlyDamned'': Sakido's death occurs during wintertime on the surface.
323** On the other hand Rhea, killed during the fall, is resurrected in winter.
324* ''Webcomic/{{Unsounded}}'': Most snow seen is in flashbacks to the day Duane was killed. There's also a flashforward to a town being destroyed by First Silver where the only people seen lay dead in the snow.
325[[/folder]]
326
327[[folder:Web Original]]
328* ''Literature/GreenAntarctica'': This is the Tsalal attitude, and why they fear the color white. Justified by the long, deadly, and very snowy winter, as well as the massive, uninhabitable glaciers in some antarctic regions.
329[[/folder]]
330
331[[folder:Western Animation]]
332* Defied in ''WesternAnimation/AroundTheWorldWithWillyFog''. In one episode, Fog and his companions set out to cross the frozen Great Lakes in an ice boat, heavy snow having prevented their train from leaving Chicago. But, when Tico begins to succumb to the freezing weather, Fog says they will have to find shelter as Tico will die if he is out in the cold for much longer. The travellers take refuge in a log cabin, where Fog resolves not to continue his journey until Tico has recovered.
333* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this]] - black snowfall, caused by the soot put out by their ships, heralds the arrival of Fire Nation forces at both the North and South Pole when they attack the Water Tribes.
334* Played with in the ''WesternAnimation/DefendersOfTheEarth'' episode "The Return of Doctor Dark". Ming initially exploits this trope by leaving Flash and Mandrake to freeze to death on the planet Frigia, which is so cold that no human can survive there for long, even with protective clothing. However, the trope is defied when the other Defenders and their Psychic Warrior friend, Mara, arrive on Frigia to rescue the two men. DisneyDeath also comes into play at this point; Flash and Mandrake are both found unconscious and Jedda initially fears the worst until Mara reassures her:
335-->Do not despair, Jedda. I sense they are still alive.
336* ''WesternAnimation/{{Horseland}}'': In the "Mosey" episode, Sarah's old cat gets fatally hit by a car and eventually disappears into the oncoming snowstorm so she doesn't see the body. When Sarah couldn't find Mosey in the snowstorm other than his [[DeadHatShot vanishing footprints]], she comes to the conclusion he's never coming back and spends most of the winter grieving over his loss, until Will helps her deal with her sadness.
337* In the Rankin-Bass StopMotion special ''WesternAnimation/NestorTheLongEaredChristmasDonkey'', the title character's mother dies after covering him with her body and keeping him warm for all night during a blizzard.
338* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ninjago}}'':
339** When [[AnIcePerson Zane]] performs his HeroicSacrifice in season 3, it spreads ice across the Overlord's forces, shattering them, which then acts as snowfall across Ninjago. It also snows at his funeral, which in this case is treated more peacefully, as his friends seem to feel his presence in it.
340** Season 11's Ice Chapter has the ninja going to the Never-Realm, a barren icy region where being without fire means imminent death and the cruel Ice Emperor "executes" his enemies by trapping them in ice (though the ninja can still heartbeats, implying they'll be restored if they can be thawed out).
341* ''WesternAnimation/OverTheGardenWall:'' The shift from autumn to winter in the final episodes threatens the lives of the protagonists and indicates that they're running out of time. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in the show's final montage, which depicts the residents of the Unknown settling into their happy endings as the snow falls peacefully around them.]]
342* In the GrandFinale of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', Ahsoka Tano's Star Destroyer crashes on an icy moon after Order 66. Too focused on killing her and Rex, the other clone troopers aboard go down with the ship, which, along with a makeshift cemetary the heroes set up for their comrades, is eventually buried in snow. Darth Vader tours the wreck site years later, and the final shot has his silhouette reflected in a half-buried clone trooper helmet's cracked visor.
343[[/folder]]
344
345[[folder:Real Life]]
346* The Battle of the Bulge in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
347* [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Friday_(1916) White Friday]] which was one of a series of avalanches to kill both Austrian and Italian soldiers in UsefulNotes/WorldWarI.
348* Captain Scott's ill-fated Antarctic expedition.
349** Similarly, the various brave idiots looking for the Northwest Passage, most famously Sir John Franklin.
350** Also Ernest Shackleton. Although he subverted it by being badass enough to get himself and all of his crew out alive.
351* The [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Death Zone]] on Everest, or indeed any mountain of sufficient height. The combination of brutally low temperatures, not enough oxygen in the air[[note]] which takes a heavy mental toll, leading to confusion and bad decision-making on top of the purely physical effects[[/note]], and the snow and ice on the ground (or, if things have gone really badly, falling from the skies as well) has cost many lives. On Everest specifically, the bodies of several climbers have served as grim way-markers for several seasons, until they are either buried by the snow, moved by the forces of nature, or, very very rarely, recovered. The most (in)famous of them was probably the Indian policeman Tsewang Paljor,[[note]]Though it might be his teammate Dorje Morup, who also died that night[[/note]] who died of exposure during the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster disastrous blizzard of May 1996]], and whose body, nicknamed ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Boots Green Boots]]'' due to his neon green mountaineering boots sticking out of snow, served as a grisly wayside beacon until 2014, when it disappeared.[[note]]Though in 2017 there were the reports of someone seeing it moved a bit far from the main track, probably by some other climber.[[/note]]
352* The [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty Donner Party]] must be mentioned because the snow helped cause the death.
353* The day following the Halifax Explosion brought a huge blizzard that only helped to add to the the death toll.
354* A popular image associated with wars involving Russia, especially invasions of Russia, although averted and subverted more often than many people think.
355** Averted when Mongols invaded the Kievan Rus'. The Russians might have lived in cold places, but the Mongols lived in ''[[AlwaysABiggerFish even colder]]'' places (Ulaanbaatar, the capital of UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}}, is still the coldest capital city in the world. Seriously, -25°C (−13°F) is nothing unusual there).
356** [[UsefulNotes/CarolusRex King Charles XII]]'s invasion during UsefulNotes/TheGreatNorthernWar ended in utter failure, but the great defeat came in the battle of Poltava, in the summer. The famous death march that followed meanwhile went over mountains resulting in this trope.
357** During Napoleon's [[UsefulNotes/TheNapoleonicWars invasion of 1812]], the ''Grande Armée'' sustained much greater losses on the road to Moscow -- partly in battles, but to a much greater degree due to dysentery, typhoid and exhaustion -- than on the more iconic Retreat from Moscow. In fact, the retreat mainly happened in the relatively mild fall, with the snow cover not setting almost until the infamous Berezina crossing. Main reason of Bonnie's losses was rather the [[EasyLogistics complete disintegration of the Grande Armée's]] ''[[EasyLogistics logistics]]''.
358** The biggest and costliest winter battles in World War I occurred in the winter of 1914/15 in territories belonging to Germany (the Winter Battle of Masuren, won by the Germans) and Austria-Hungary (the Winter Battle of the Carpathians, won by the Russians).
359** When the Soviet Union invaded Finland in the Winter of 1939/40, their forces sustained heavy losses. On the other hand, during the Russo-Swedish War of 1808, a Russian army succeeded in marching across the frozen Baltic Sea from Finland to Sweden.
360** The Battle of Stalingrad started in August, but in movies and on pictures, you will almost always see the last weeks in January and February when snow only added to the bleakness of the whole situation, and things went FromBadToWorse for German 6th Army trapped there.
361** Zig-zagged during Siege of Leningrad. While the deaths ([[WinterOfStarvation mainly from starvation]]) peaked during winter time, that very same winter caused Lake Ladoga to froze, allowing food and munition supplies to arrive into besieged Leningrad and even allowing some residents to escape (it wasn't named "Road of Life" for nothing). Still, the starvation during the siege was so severe that some peoples actually [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty resorted to cannibalism]][[note]]Funnily enough, considering the enormous amount of civilians that starved to death in the siege, the instances of cannibalism is usually regarded as surprisingly far less than one would probably expect out of the most lethal siege in all of history[[/note]], and extreme temperatures were also suspected to have been an insurmountable obstacle to civilians that were too distant to food distribution, not to mention the "Road of Life" itself was constantly harassed by German's bombardment.
362* Siberia is often depicted as the physical embodiment of this trope, and with good reason, as Russian leaders had seen it as a convenient place to dump undesirables since the 1860s.
363* In Finland, mentioning a drunken person and snow in the same sentence is almost always interpreted as "froze to death", and it is regularly used as an example when explaining to teens why drinking outside during an arctic winter is a [[TooDumbToLive really bad idea]].
364* There is a proverb in Finland ''Tulis talvi ja tappais köyhät'' (Wish winter would come and kill the poor) which is effectively [[KickTheDog hoping misfortune for someone disadvantaged]].
365* The Wounded Knee massacre, which happened on a snowy December day in South Dakota.
366** December 29, 1890, to be exact. And South Dakota is known for extreme weather, so when it's hot, it's really hot, and when it's cold, it's really cold.
367* Heavy snow fell on rescue and relief operations in eastern Japan five days after the March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
368* Throughout much of history this trope was subverted in that when it snowed the armies couldn't march so countries at war would call an armistice in winter.
369** The more accurate explanation would be that when it snowed, armies couldn't ''eat''. They'd happily march through snow if there were food at the other end.
370* "Starlight tours" in Saskatchewan. Sounds poetic. [[http://www.cbc.ca/news2/background/aboriginals/starlighttours.html It's not.]]
371* It's not a coincidence that two of the DumpMonths, January and February, are in the middle of winter. Winter is where movies go to die at the box office, and one of the reasons why is because, during the winter months, snowstorms can trap moviegoers in their homes throughout much of the northern US and Canada.
372* [[UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses The Battle of Towton]] was fought during a snowstorm, with both armies wading through knee-deep snow drifts. Some estimates claim 28,000 people died there, at a time when that would account for 1% of England's entire population. It was perhaps one of the nastiest battles ever conducted by British soldiery; even the lower end casualty estimates of 9000 dead are higher than the Battle of Antietam, fought 400 years later with rifles and cannon. Towton, by contrast, was fought face-to-face, with swords and axes and fists.
373* The Battle of Eylau in 1807, where the snow was also lethal to Marshal Augereau's VII Corps and both sides lost about 50,000 men altogether. Later on, as he came back on the same battlefield in spring, Captain Marbot found it hard to reconcile the beautiful greenery with his very vivid memories of the carnage, and the knowledge that he would have been one of the corpses buried under a bed of grass and flowers if not for a series of lucky coincidences.
374* The BBC Scotland documentary ''[[https://t.co/9BNpva3Gz6 Choosing to die]]'' presented by [[Creator/TerryPratchett Terry Pratchett]] ends with a euthanasia in Switzerland and afterwards Terry walks out of the house, and regards the snow. And remarks it is "good snow, fitting for what has just happened."
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