WEATHER ANOMALIES: Rare Weather Event Produces SPONTANEOUS SNOWBALLS In Idaho - The Snow Rollers Are So Rare And Fleeting, That The Precise Weather Conditions Needed To Form Them ARE NOT DEFINED?!

Snowballed out of control: A rare weather event at the end of last month shows the formation of spontaneous balls at
The Nature Conservancy's Silver Creek Preserve and surrounding fields

February 13, 2016 - IDAHO, UNITED STATES - Thousands of snowballs rolled in a flat central Idaho field look like the work of hundreds of ambitious kids - except there are no human tracks.

A rare weather event caused the spontaneous snowballs at the Nature Conservancy's Silver Creek Preserve and surrounding fields near the tiny town of Picabo.

Preserve manager Sunny Healey spotted the cylindrical shapes up to 18 inches high on January 30 following an overnight windstorm. They created long lines in the snow as they moved.

'You could see the tracks that they made, and I thought that was really curious,' Healey said. 'I had to stop a couple times. Then, along Highway 20, there were thousands of them.'

So-called snow rollers are so rare and fleeting that the precise weather conditions needed to form them are not defined, said Jay Breidenbach, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Snow rollers up to 18 inches are especially rare.

Rare: The National Weather Service says snow rollers are caused by an unusual combination of snowfall around a couple inches
with the right water density and temperatures near freezing followed by strong winds

So-called snow rollers, like the ones in Idaho, are so rare and fleeting that the precise weather conditions needed to form them are not defined,
said Jay Breidenbach, a meteorologist

'Those are some pretty big rollers,' Breidenbach said. 'I've seen some small rollers, but never that big.'

In general, it takes an unusual combination of a couple of inches of snow with the right water density and temperatures near freezing, followed by strong winds, he said.

'You could see the tracks that they made, and I thought that was really curious,' Healey said. 'I had to stop a couple times. Then, along Highway 20, there were thousands of them.'

So-called snow rollers are so rare and fleeting that the precise weather conditions needed to form them are not defined, said Jay Breidenbach, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Snow rollers up to 18 inches are especially rare.

'Those are some pretty big rollers,' Breidenbach said. 'I've seen some small rollers, but never that big.'

In general, it takes an unusual combination of a couple of inches of snow with the right water density and temperatures near freezing, followed by strong winds, he said.

'It can't be real dry snow or it would blow into drifts,' Breidenbach said.

WHAT CAUSES SNOW ROLLERS?
'This winter phenomenon occurs when strong winds pick up moist snow and blow it along the ground, eventually building a cylinder of snow that is often hollow in the middle. When the snow roller grows too large for the wind to propel it farther, it stops.

Snow rollers can be as large as barrels, as you can see in the photos from Craigmont, Idaho. In a field, they can resemble Cheerios on their sides or rolls of toilet paper.'

Source: Weather.com

Ideal conditions for snow rollers:

1. Existing icy or crusty snow cover, so additional snow will not stick to it

2. Additional wet, loose snow on top of the icy, crusty snow cover

3. Wind strong enough to scoop out balls of snow and propel snow roller foward.

4. At least some slope to the ground

Source: National Weather Service

Rollers require some type of firmer base, such as a frozen layer of earlier snow, for the new powder to start rolling on.

Plus, the wind must be strong and steady but not with powerful gusts that could damage the formations.

'It would probably blow them apart because they are fragile,' Breidenbach said.

It snowed on January 29, with the snow becoming wetter toward evening, Healey said. She lives at the preserve and said winds woke her up.

In her five years working at the preserve, she had never seen such an event, but a local rancher in his 70s told her he's spotted them twice in previous decades.

"We know basically how they form and why they form, but we don't know the exact details," Breidenbach said. "It would be interesting to go there with some weather instruments to watch them form."  - Daily Mail.

ICE AGE NOW: Global Cooling Continues Relentlessly - Blizzard Leaves Behind RARE SNOW ROLLERS In Vineyard, Massachusetts; First Snowfall In 15 YEARS For Arunachal Capital, India; Heavy Snowfall Disrupts China's Pre-Holiday Travel Rush; And FIRST EVER RECORDED SNOW 300km South Of Hanoi, Vietnam! [PHOTOS + VIDEOS]

Snow rollers scattered on the field at Fred Fisher's farm in West Tisbury.
© Timothy Johnson

February 1, 2016 - EARTH - The following articles constitutes several of the latest reports on heavy snowfall, low temperatures and snow storms as global cooling continues across the Earth.

Blizzard leaves behind rare snow rollers in Vineyard, Massachusetts

Beyond the snow and some downed tree limbs, the weekend blizzard left another, more unusual calling card, as Vineyard fields were strewn with cylindrical pieces of snow.

The meteorological phenomena are called snow rollers. According to the National Weather Service, snow rollers are formed by strong but not too-strong winds and light snow falling on a layer of smooth, crusted-over old snow.

A small piece of snow is picked up by the wind and, as it rolls along, it collects more snow and becomes cylindrical in shape, sometimes with a hole extending lengthwise through the center. It's a bit like an oblong base of a snowman made by the wind. Snow rollers are said to be as large as a foot in diameter.

Snow rollers are said to be rare because of the unique set of conditions required for them to form.© Albert O. Fischer

Snow rollers are rare, the weather service said, because of the combination of conditions required for them to form.

On Monday they were the talk of the town, including on social media sites, as they were spotted around the Island.

Meanwhile, snowfall amounts varied around the Island. Weather observers reported 10 inches in Edgartown, 13 inches in Oak Bluffs, and 15 inches in West Tisbury during the winter storm that lasted from mid-day Saturday to early Sunday morning. - Vineyard Gazette.

First snowfall in 15 years for Arunachal capital, India

Snow in Arunachal Pradesh

Several districts of Arunachal Pradesh witnessed season's first snowfall. The State capital witnessed the season's first snowfall after a gap of over 15 years.
With the mercury going sub-zero, several districts in Arunachal Pradesh witnessed the season's first snowfall since the last couple of days.

Tawang district bordering China witnessed heavy snowfall while Sela Pass situated an altitude of 13,700 feet on the Bomdila-Tawang road, the lifeline of defence personnel travelling to the frontier, was covered with more than one feet of snow in the last three days, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Jang Dr D K Chutia said.

Bomdila, the district headquarters of West Kameng received moderate snowfall after a gap of over 12 years.

This year snowfall was also reported from Mechuka in West Siang district, Mayudia in Dibang Valley, Kibithu in Anjaw, Lemiking and Taksing in Upper Subansiri. - The North East Today.

Heavy snowfall disrupts China's pre-holiday travel rush

Citizens walk on the snow-covered bank of the Xiangjiang River in Changsha, capital of central China's Hunan Province, Feb. 1, 2016

Rare heavy snow hit several central and eastern Chinese provinces Sunday, disrupting a pre-holiday travel rush that involves millions of people.

Heavy snow blanketed central China's Hubei Province early Sunday, closing down a pivotal airport in its capital Wuhan, delaying trains and causing standstill on expressways, the local government said.

The Tianhe Airport in Wuhan was closed at midday. Sixteen departing flights were canceled, while 18 incoming flights were forced to land in the neighboring cities of Nanchang or Changsha. At least 2,000 passengers were stranded at the airport.

The railway network was also under heavy pressure, as large crowds of passengers, frustrated by flight cancellations and road blocks, flocked into train stations.

Photo taken on Jan. 31, 2016 shows a closed Yangtze River ferry dock in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province. Local meteorologic authority issued yellow
alerts against snow and road icing on Sunday, forecasting snowfall in Wuhan, Huanggang and Jingzhou cities. © Xinhua/Yu Guoqing

"We put four additional trains in service for passengers traveling within Hubei Province," said an official with the Wuhan Railway Bureau. "But the snowy weather slowed down most trains, causing an average delay of 30 to 50 minutes." The weather bureau in Wuhan said the snow would last in most parts of the province until Tuesday.

In east China's Jiangxi Province, snowy weather caused serious congestions on interprovincial expressways. On one of the most congested sections of an expressway linking Jiangxi and Hubei Provinces, motor vehicles piled up 3 km in a standstill.

The provincial weather bureau has forecast snow in six cities and a temperature drop of 3 to 5 degrees Celsius.

Snow hit at least 12 cities in east China's Jiangsu Province Sunday. Local authorities have closed down four interprovincial expressways for safety considerations.Snow or sleet also hit the provinces of Henan and Anhui, while rain soaked Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi and Yunnan provinces as well as Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to the National Meteorological Center.


WATCH: Snow disrupts millions of Chinese' pre-holiday travel rush.

This round of rain and snow will last for three days, according to the center.

The bad weather is a nuisance for the early birds who have embarked on their once-a-year Spring Festival travel for home.

The 40-day travel rush, which began a week ago, was a major event in China. Students, migrant workers and other passengers take trains, buses and planes to head home for the Spring Festival, or the Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb. 8 this year. - ECNS.

First ever recorded snow 300km south of Hanoi, Vietnam

Snows blanketed Vietnam and Laos the last week of January 2016 breaking hundreds of cold and snow records. SaPa farmers at total crop losses, 9000+ cattle froze to death and Nghe An recorded its first snowfall ever with records stretching back to 1650.


WATCH: First ever recorded snow 300km south of Hanoi, Vietnam.

- Adapt 2030.