Shaggy, not too many years ago, we had a freak blizzard that caused cattle losses around here (but it looks like the one that hit this year was worse).
It was as bad a set of circumstances as you could get, for cattle.
It was early in the season. Around here, 'summer grazing' usually goes from May 10 to Oct 10, (some guys go May 15 to Oct 15, but the jist is still the same). Using those dates, the cows were still in 'summer pasture', and not in their winter grazing areas, where most ranchers have some sort of shelters set up to protect them.
Secondly, was the rain. Same deal as here, the rain wets them to the skin, and chlls them, the same way wet clothes don't keep you warm. Add to the fact, just a matter of days before the blizzard, it was 80+ degrees out, and there was little to no conditioning for the cold, the winter coats were at most just starting to grow in.
Then, factor the winds. Winds and blowing snow confused the cattle. If they don't have shelter, or for some reason leave shelter, they get disoriented, and wander around, looking for food/shelter. If they don't find it, they wander until they get stuck in a corner somewhere, with no-where to go (or wandering in circles, never reaching shelter - same result). Then, they either mill around until they have no energy left, then they collapse, and get buried in snow, and suffocate. Or, they get panicked from the storm, run around and overexert themselves, and all that huffing and puffing causes them to suck snowflakes into their lungs. Once that happens, it is only a matter of time before they die. That is what got about 10% of our calves one year. While they were in a pasture with mama, the storm came up quickly from nowhere, and some calves were caught in the open. I think the snow blinded them, and they ran around bawling for mama, and some sucked in enough snow, they got pneumonia and died from it. Some were dead on the spot, others took maybe a week to die. Nothing like taking calves to the vet, only to have him tell you there is nothing that can be done to save them. The mature cows knew enough to stay where they could find shelter, and the little calves that usually stuck close to mama, all were OK, as well. Our losses were all big calves, almost ready to wean, who would venture out on their own more (and, coincidentally, were worth the most at the time, LOL)
Trust me, I can really feel for those guys.
Really, there wasn't much that could be done, there was just too much snow, in too severe of a storm, when the cattle were not acclimated to the cold.
Some pics of just how much snow there was, are posted on the Weather Channel, click the arrows to see more photos.
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-winter/winter-storm-atlas-photos-20131003
