Thursday, January 27, 2011

Thundersnow?


A twig peeks out



I was under the impression that I have lived long enough that nothing would be able to knock me for a loop. There is a woman, however, who can still pull surprises out of a hat.  Her name is Mother Nature.

The weatherman had been forecasting a potentially heavy snowfall for the area since last week.  In Virginia weather predictions can no longer surprise anyone. Precip…toss the dice.  Amount? Pick a number, any number from one to ten. 

This time they promised a snowman building snow.  Wet enough to pack together and, well, enough to actually create one over a couple of inches tall. 

Our event started with rain and lots of it.  Then it changed to sleet my favorite precipitation. (Kidding!)  Not content to remain in this state it then changed into a wet snow full of flakes the size of dinner plates.

And then the thunder started!!  Thunder in January! Thundersnow?  I thought I was dreaming, but this morning the newspaper’s front page proclaimed this rare phenomenon a fact!

How many inches did we get? Well I guess it varied for each ten miles as is common in this State, but in my area we got around two inches.  No snowman for me.  In addition the temperature turned a bit colder so the snow that was supposed to be packable was just dry and crusty.  You won’t win any snowball fights that way.

I can’t complain.  At least it’s not “Snowmageddon” as the media dubbed it during last year’s rare back-to-back blizzards.  It was just  “Thundersnow.”  Here in the south we just love those nicknames! 

Bending to nature's will

11 comments:

Marlene said...

Mother Nature does pack a few surprises. I have experiences Thundarsnow once in Utah - It was the most bizarre storm I have ever been in. Besides Thundar and tons of snow it was also windy.

Anonymous said...

I've been thru a few "thundersnows" and they are rare considering I've been thru quite a few winters :) Mother Nature has her moments just like the rest of us.
Your photos are always a joy to see Crystal :)

Carol Blackburn said...

So you've had your first thundersnow.....awesome. I remember only one and I was shocked too. Nothing will surprise me now.

Gretchen Bjornson ART said...

We had some "thundersnow" in Ohio several years ago. My husband and I decided the weathermen had to make up a new term in order to make snow seem more ominous.

Liz Revit said...

Darn! I missed the thundersnow in Pennsylvania.

Lee Pierce said...

Love it! I only remember one storm like that out of the very many I've seen.
You've had a bunch of interesting weather in the past year.
I used to love the heat lightning when I drove through Virginia.

Crystal said...

There is an old saying in Virginia..."if you don't like the weather, stick around for 24 hours."

De la Renaissance said...

Ah yes..."thundersnow"...seems every other winter or so we see at least one of these storms. :0)

Living next to Lake Superior the saying here is..."if you don't like the weather just wait a few hours." It can turn on a dime...in the summer, one minute it can be 90+ degrees and you are dripping sweat with not a stir of a breeze to cool you, and in an instant a wind can come up and you run for a jacket because the temp just dropped to +50! Winter isn't quite so drastic...it just stays cold or colder... :0)

Leovi said...

The first a beautiful composition with magnificent colors of snow white, very suggestive. The second forms a fun game, a greeting.

Wanda said...

Being a native California, I had never seen or heard of thundersnow.

Both your pictures are very interesting.

We have sunshine today, and my flowers are beginng to bloom early. I can't imagine how I would handle living in the snow. Probably not well.

Magic Love Crow said...

Hey Crystal, we had ThunderSnow last year! I know exactly what you are talking about!

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