There's a blizzard in Fortnite and where to find ice boxes – CNET

Fortnite is celebrating the holiday season with its Winterfest event. In store for players are free cosmetics, unvaulted weapons and a new set of challenges to complete for even more loot. Something else that’s new is a blizzard randomly occurring during matches. 

On Thursday, players noticed snowstorms will now happen during matches. The blizzard comes in both light and heavy variations, affecting the visibility during a match. According to one data miner, the storms occur approximately every 15 minutes and will last for five minutes. 

There’s speculation the snowstorms could be part of a special winter event such as the season 7 Ice Storm. On Wednesday, developer Epic Games released the Shiver skin, which players noted is part of the Ice King outfit set. There are several encrypted files from the latest game update, and those could be part of some event that might happen soon. 

Winterfest 2019 started Dec. 18 in Fortnite. For 14 days, a new present will be available to unwrap each day and will include skins, gliders, pickaxes, wraps, emotes and more. There’ll also be a challenge to complete each day, with even more loot as a reward. 

Search two ice boxes

Day 13 of Winterfest has players finding ice boxes. These boxes are found within building and act like a chest filled with loot. See the map on where to find several of the ice boxes on the island to complete this challenge. 

Where to find frozen loot

Scattered across the island are blocks of ice containing loot. Be prepared to take your time when trying to open the frozen loot; you’ve got to hit a lot of points on a block to break it open. Check the map below for where to find them. Only one is needed for the challenge. 

Dance at holiday trees in 5 different named locations

Each day during Winterfest there’s a new challenge. The latest: find a holiday tree to dance in front of. There are seven trees on the map at named locations. The spots are Retail Row, Lazy Lake, Misty Meadows, Slurpy Swamp, Salty Springs, Pleasant Park and Holly Hedges. Check the map below for where to find the trees. 

Here are the rest of the challenges: 

• Search holiday stockings in the Winterfest cabin.
• Stoke a campfire.
• Five eliminations with an unvaulted weapon. 
• Hide inside a Sneaky Snowman in two different matches.
• Warm yourself by the fireplace in the Winterfest cabin.
• Search a chest within 60 seconds of landing from the Battle Bus. 
• Use two presents.
• Open frozen loot. 
• Deal damage to an opponent with a lump of coal.
• Destroy a Sneaky Snowman with a lightsaber or pickax.
• Light a frozen firework found on beaches in Sweaty Sands, Craggy Cliffs or Dirty Docks. 
• Search Ammo Boxes at the Workshop, Shiver Inn or Ice Thrones.

Multiple challenges require visiting the Winterfest cabin. In the lobby menu, click on the snowflake next to the Play option to head to the cabin. Once there, you’ll see the wrapped presents and can unwrap one for each day. 

The gift Fortnite fans will likely really want to get their hands on is the Millennium Falcon glider. It’s the one gift that’s actually shaped like the spacecraft. All gifts will be available until Jan. 7. 

Epic will also unvault weapons and bring back limited time modes each day from Dec. 18 to Jan. 2. One challenge will require using a returning gun. 

Originally published Dec. 18 and updated as new challenges are revealed.