Some of our younger readers may not get the title, and may never have seen a TV show in black and white. The answer is at the end of the article. Here’s an interesting weather phenomenon on the prairie – snow rollers!
From the NWS in Spokane, WA
(h/t to Mike D)
Snow Rollers on the Camas Prairie
March 31 2009
On the evening of March 31st, 2009, Tim Tevebaugh was driving home from work east of Craigmont in the southern Idaho Panhandle (see map below). Across the rolling hay fields, Tim saw a very unusual phenomenon. The snow rollers that he took pictures of are extremely rare because of the unique combination of snow, wind, temperature and moisture needed to create them. They form with light but sticky snow and strong (but not too strong) winds. Some snow rollers are formed by gravity (i.e. rolling down a hill), but in this case, the snow rollers were generated by the wind.
These snow rollers formed during the day as they weren’t present in the morning on Tim’s drive to work.
Based on estimations from Tim as well as the blades of grass in the picture, most of the snow rollers were about 18″ in height, while the largest rollers were about 2 feet tall.
Click on the thumbnails below for a full-size image.
OK figured out the title yet?
If not here is a hint:
And here is the original TV show and theme.
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Very cool!
Insanely way cool
Rawhide!
I didn’t have to look. That says something about how old I am.
Rowdy Yates.
It’s ALIENS!!! First crop circles and now this, it’s a warning about the irrevocable harm we’re doing to the environment. Quick, hide these from Al, he’ll recognize them as another sign of the coming global apocalypse!
keerrrrr…SNAP!
I thought it was “Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’..” for the Rawhide theme.
http://www.televisiontunes.com/Rawhide.html
Sure sounds like “Rollin'” to me.
Gil Faver (sp?) was the trail boss.
Yee Haaa. Rawhide. Love Frankie Laine. The Blues Brothers can’t hold a candle to him.
Based on estimations from Tim as well as the blades of grass in the picture, most of the snow rollers were about 18″ in height, while the largest rollers were about 2 feet tall.
It is not widely known that 18″ snow rollers are within the bounds of natural variability.
However 2 foot tall snow rollers are definently not natural and must be a result of man made emissions of CO2.
These unprecendentally large and robust snow rollers are, without a shadow of a doubt, a direct consequence of Man’s Rampant Pollution!
The consequences of such large and robust snow rollers are too horrifying to contemplate – but I’ll give it a shot.
2 foot high snow rollers are large enough to engulf small pets, it has been predicted by climate models that such snow rollers could entirely smother the average weiner dog. It is predicted that fields of snow rollers will become weiner dog graveyards with the poor animals wedged inside the snow rollers – frozen into a strange “cold dog” shape.
Their poor little noses poking out one end of the white snow roller, and their thin little tails, rigid with the cold, out the other end.
As I have remarked earlier – too horrific to contemplate.
I can only shake my head at the sheer folly of man – when will we ever learn to not mess with Mother Nature…
Well, I named a birddog ‘Rawhide’ partly because he was the color of leather (and white) and so I could sing out to him as he ran. Nice song.
The natural world is capable of wondrous things. It would be a good idea if our elected folks didn’t have so much serious business to conduct – capping and trading and raising money – so they could get out and see things like these snow rollers. They might even notice the lack of evidence for AGW. Oh well, won’t happen.
Should mention that the ‘southern Idaho Panhandle’ means the south part of the Panhandle which is the north part of the State.
Had a bunch of these (albeit smaller) across my front lawn (SE Ohio) a few years ago. Neat! And I think Alberts is correct-“Rollin’…”.
These are cool! Don’t know what the wind has to be to form these; but, the last two weeks have been miserable in SE Idaho. Last week we recorded a 68 MPH gust with 55-60 mph sustained. We lost half of a Russian Olive tree outside my office and those things are tough. It split right down the middle of the trunk. The winds have been over 40 for 5 or 6 of the last 10 days.
Andy
Snow rollers – those pics more impressive than any snow I’ve seen rolling. There’s more to nature than meets the eye.
Hey, I remember Rawhide … and before that, The Honeymooners … and before that, I Love Lucy … and before that … well, you get the idea.
I’ve never seen snow period, except in the pictures. But that is pretty cool.
(I live in South Florida and I post date the “Day it Snowed in Miami” (which was proof of global cooling back then 😉 ))
The fact that this occurrence was observed on March 31st (the day before April Fool’s Day) made me a little skeptical.
But knock me in the head with a snow shovel! A snow roller event occurred in my home area, Central Illinois, in February of 2003:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ilx/events/roller/roller.php
Rawhide……..a reeeaaaally good memory of my childhood.
Something that is even weirder than snow rollers are “The Sliding Rocks of Racetrack Playa,” see http://geology.com/articles/racetrack-playa-sliding-rocks.shtml
Slide ’em, slide ’em, slide ’em, rock on!
Graeme Rodaughan
I like your sense of humour.Thanks for the laugh.
Lyrics
” Through rain and wind and weather… Hell bent for leather”
Mmmm, Makes ya think… don’t it???
Wow! Bales of snow! Learn something new every day. Thanks for the pics
Amazing images! I’ve never seen anything like this.
Rolls of empirical climate data awaiting transport to a secure government facility?
How beautiful! Well if that’s global warming lets have more of it if it can produce such wonderfully natural art. Or is it????????? How are they actually formed?
Yes Rawhide, what a great show that made me dream of being a cowboy! Then of course there was Waggon Train, what ever happened to that handsome young mand who played Rowdy? I expect he’s dissappeared into obscurity now as a bit-part actor! Shame really he could have gone on to something bigger & better I felt. Oh well………….
Alan the Brit: I’m assuming you’re kidding. Of course you do remember Rowdy Yates was played by Clint Eastwood, right? Since then Eastwood hasn’t been very obscure… LOL Who wudda thunk Clint would become one of Hollywood’s finest film directors… certainly not me!
I called my son in to see these pictures and he summed it up perfectly – “Wow, whoa, wicked!”