Sunday, January 1, 2017

Snow Rollers....

Last night we saw something so unique:  
Snow Rollers!  
I have never seen anything like it before!







They weren't as amazing this morning:


The nightly news even mentioned it.  After a quick internet search, this is what I found:

snow roller is a rare meteorological phenomenon in which large snowballs are formed naturally as chunks of snow are blown along the ground by wind, picking up material along the way, in much the same way that the large snowballs used in snowmen are made. They can be as small as a tennis ball, but they can also be bigger than a car.[1]
Unlike snowballs made by people, snow rollers are typically cylindrical in shape, and are often hollow since the inner layers, which are the first layers to form, are weak and thin compared to the outer layers and can easily be blown away, leaving what looks like a doughnut or Swiss roll.
The following conditions are needed for snow rollers to form:
  • There must be a relatively thin surface layer of wet, loose snow, with a temperature near the melting point of ice.
  • Under this thin layer of wet snow there must be a substrate to which the thin surface layer of wet snow will not stick, such as ice or powder snow.
  • The wind must be strong enough to move the snow rollers, but not strong enough to blow them apart.

Fascinating!

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year!

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Patti @ Pandoras Box
Patti @ Pandoras Box

I live in central NY and I am a retired family and consumer science teacher. I enjoy all types of crafting, decorating and cooking

11 comments:

  1. Very interesting, Patti! I've never seen this phenomenon. Of course, we really don't get that much snow in VA. Happy New Year! ♥

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  2. Gosh! This is the second interesting snow phenomenon I've encountered online this winter. Intruging stuff.

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  3. Very cool! I've never heard of that before! Happy New Year:@)

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  4. They are really cool! I e seen them near my camp.

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  5. 🎉 Happy New YEAR 🎉 Thanks again for telling me about my email ...all fixed :)

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  6. Hi Patti, I have seen them but usually smaller -- some of yours are quite large! We don't have as much snow as you do, just a white dusting everywhere right now. I would be happy to keep it this way all winter! Linda

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  7. This really is fascinating. I did take note that they looked like Swiss rolls. The fact that you had never seen them before is even more amazing. #scienceiscool

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  8. Very interesting! I did a post a few years ago using photos that a friend shared. He lives on Lake Ontario, and the snow balls on the shore and in the lake were amazing. You can see it on this post: https://hyacinthforthesoul.blogspot.com/2011/01/on-shores-of-lake-ontario.html
    I find it all fascinating. Rain, but no snow here. '-) Stay warm!

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  9. How interesting and absolutely fascinating! Thunderstorms and warm air to start the day here. Thanks for sharing this, who knew!

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  10. Wow, never heard of this! That must have been an eerie sight for sure!!
    Jenna

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  11. How amazing! I like to see the weather channel when they talk about crazy things that can happen...but how neat to actually see it! WOW!

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