We had an abrupt drop in temperature last night, along with some snow and 80kph winds. It was a blizzard! Howling all night long!
This morning, I get up and see the snow drifts everywhere.
I think that’s elegant and beautiful. For a sense of scale, though, that’s just my driveway, and the drift is about knee deep.
I also liked this snow sculpture.
The wind just carved a thin straight line of snow from the signpost. There are these interesting shapes all over the place.
Not so interesting, though, was walking to work through the knee-deep drifts.
We live in a very different climate (subtropical coastal Queensland) but I have a similar photo of a ridge of sand trailing a shell after a storm on the beach. Beautiful shapes created by unconscious forces.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/S3VLh2vgUL8hLftD6
While I’m doing photos that might be of interest, there’s this amazing bit of bird mimicry which is actually a seed pod from a native shrub (photo taken in Currimundi Nature Reserve)…
https://photos.app.goo.gl/5CcN7eHwn6FDrtbH7
The thing that puzzles me is, why would a shrub evolve seed pods that mimic a bird? Or is it not mimicry at all and just a case of paradoelia?
Thank you, Chris Lawson, for both pics (and yours, too, PZ). When I read about a seed pod “mimicking” a bird, I thought about how the hell a seed pod could make such sounds. But it is an interesting case of paradoelia.
It’s a boring sunny 49 degrees on the northern coast of California.
NOAA kept forecasting a huge winter storm and snow up to 2″ for the Verde Valley in AZ located at over 3,000 feet. But, all we got was a drizzle of rain. LOL And, NOAA is usually wrong and is so out of it they are still celebrating G. Washington’s b-day instead of the national holiday of President’s day.
off current topic, but should interest all of you:
https://www.existentialcomics.com/ for 20230215 A very good comic about classical philosophers promoting ‘Longtermism’.
And, remember the real ‘snow job’ will always come from Rtwingnut politicians. As we posted years ago cpyrt 2016: “conservative always begins with a CON and progressive always begins with PROGRESS.”
Currently 62F, sunny and breezy, in beautiful North East Pennsylvania. Normally know as the place where the sun doesn’t shine. So far, two nights with single digits, only one day that didn’t reach 20F. For the whole winter. And a whole 7 inches of snow.
We had rain and winds all night long here just east of Duluth. Turned to snow this morning and we got a couple inches of snow. The wind has died down but still gusting to 20 mph. Snowfall has stopped and some sun peaking through. Solar panels are clear and we are making power.
#6 I grew up in NE PA. Clarks Summit just outside of Scranton. I have only been back twice since 1980. But old friends post pics on Facebook. How it has changed. We used to get a fair bit of snow there when I was a kid. Did some skiing at Elk Mountain and Camelback.
Thankfully I can’t relate. It’s nearly 70 degrees today where I live. I also I hear we’re approaching some kind of record on the number of days without snowfall. I can’t say I miss the stuff.
Almost precisely two years ago we had extreme snowfall coupled with strong winds. I had fallen and fractured an ankle, and it it was almost a miracle when the taxi made it past the snowdrifts to my house to pick me up and take me to hospital.
Today we have an unusually mild sunny day, but I have no illusions it will last until spring.
We had an unexpected storm move through the south bay yesterday which dropped some heavy rain and some hail for about 10 minutes all with a clap or two of thunder. Today, sunny and a chilly 55.
Such is the weather here is northern cali.
My wife and I were camping in Chaco Canyon, NM Monday when this appeared https://photos.app.goo.gl/gVSwqTFUVGw3Kn2q6. Fifteen minutes later, blasting wind and sideways snow. We did not sleep well https://photos.app.goo.gl/5vWCCfGETMXzobeG7. We’re in Albuquerque now, and the wind is still blowing.
You should figure out a good reason to go study the spiders of the Canadian Arctic some April, if you like wind-swept snow. Absolutely gorgeous up there.
Not enough for proper snowthings
https://www.boston25news.com/news/trending/shes-going-need-bigger-lawn-art-teacher-creates-sharks-out-snow/2XZGANXBOZEGLCCJ35T6ZDSCMM/
We were supposed to get a snow storm here ( eastern TN ), all we got was some very wet wind.
… and temperatures keep jumping around between 60s and freezing. As in, 65F today, monday morning I had ice all over my car, from the snow storm we were supposed to get. I guess the wind chill was just enough to freeze it.
Here in Adelaide, South Australia the temperature is currently 38.3 Celsius or 100.9 Fahrenheit. Very stinking hot & unpleasant.. Also more worryingly total fire ban conditions with a lot of dry vegetation ready to burn after the relatively cool and wet Summer so far. Give me snow anyday! (Something we don’t really get here.)
We’re having our usual sort of winter day here on the coast of California.
Mid-30s at night, then a gradual warm-up to around 60 by the afternoon.
We’ve had a lot of rain this winter, but it was very needed.