Snow Rollers in Ohio

[dingy]

There are hundreds of these in at a soccer field I went by today at lunch. They are somewhat rare, conditions need to be in a tight range of several parameters for them to form. There are trails behind them where they rolled across ground.

It was about 34 deg. F. over the weekend at times with very strong winds which caused the snow to roll and form large rolls of snow. Some are near at least 18" tall.

Going to be -15 deg F tonight.

Snow balls 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, according to information on the Internet.

The following conditions are needed for snow rollers to form: The ground must be covered by a layer of ice to which snow will not stick; the layer of ice must be covered by wet, loose snow with a temperature near the melting point of ice; the wind must be strong enough to move the snow rollers, but not strong enough to blow them apart; and alternatively, gravity can move the snow rollers as when a snowball, such as those that will fall from a tree or cliff, lands on steep hill and begins to roll down the hill.

Gary

 

[Traumahawk]

Now thats kinda cool. We picked up your cold weather. Saturday afternoon it was 67...today the high was 30.

 

[88vmx12]

I have seen them back home in Idaho several times. Pretty cool for sure and they are rare like you said, feel lucky to have seen them.

G

 

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Saw something similar today on the side of the driveway leading to our warehouse. There is a big field on one side of the road. Pretty wide open and generally windy in that area. The field slopes toward the road. It looked more like a battlefield of large snow balls vs. neat rolls. Never saw anything like it. I had to stop the truck and look. I was wondering what in the world created it.

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[tothemax93]

I have 50 years in western NY (Buffalo) winters. Never seen this before. So, these are naturally occuring snowmen? I thought they were all man made global snowmen :snow::eusa_dance:

 

[06VMAXIMUS]

My parents called yesterday talking about them being in the neighbors yard. They are both pushing 90 years old and have never seen them before. They look like miniature bales of hay!

 

[tothemax93]

My parents called yesterday talking about them being in the neighbors yard. They are both pushing 90 years old and have never seen them before. They look like miniature bales of hay!

That was my first impression. Snow covered round bales.

 

[dannymax]

They were mentioning this on the Albany news last night but said they rarely occur in this area. I think they're kin to the 'walking leaves'.....:confused2: