Learn Spanish (Latin America): Fue una ventisca de espanto.

This sentence uses the structure una + noun + de + extreme noun (espanto). Literally meaning a blizzard of terror, this noun-to-noun formula is a highly natural way to express extreme qualities in Spanish, often sounding much stronger and more native than simply using an adjective like aterradora (terrifying).

Why is the word after de the noun espanto instead of an adjective like espantosa?

The formula for this type of extreme intensification strictly requires a noun after de. Espanto is the noun for terror or fright. If you want to use the adjective espantosa, you must drop the de completely and say una ventisca espantosa.

I thought past weather descriptions always used the imperfect tense. Why does this sentence use the preterite fue?

It is true that the imperfect (era) is standard for setting the background scene or describing ongoing weather. However, using the preterite (fue) frames the blizzard as a single, completed event. The speaker is looking back at the storm as a finished episode that occurred and ended, rather than describing what it looked like while something else was happening.

Can the phrase de espanto be used for things that are not literally terrifying?