In the United Kingdom (UK), there was a rare natural phenomenon during the same time the Louisville region was being hit with the first snow of the season. Also known as “snow rollers,” “snow bales” and “snow doughnuts,” these unusual formations appear mostly in unusual conditions created by a precise combination of snow, ice, wind, temperature and moisture on the prairies of North America. However, January 8, 2010, these snow cylinders appeared in Yeovil, Somerset, UK, according to theTelegraph.
A field full of hundreds of rare self-rolling snow balls in Yeovil Photo: Ron Trevett
The first time Ron Trevett, who found this phenomenon, saw these snow balls, he thought kids made them. But there were no footprints! “We saw them from a distance on the ridge of the field, and we thought some kids had been playing up there and making giant snowballs, but when we got up there we saw there were no footprints and there were hundreds of them – too many for children to have done it. We realized it must have been the wind,” he said.
Frank Barrow, a lecturer in meteorology at the Met Office, said the rolls can only form in a precise set of unusual conditions. “They start off with nice thick layer of snow, with the top snow just on the point of melting either because of general temperature or sunshine on the surface,” he said. “The top snow layer becomes a bit sticky, and you then need a fairly strong wind. The sticky layer can be peeled off the colder and more powdery snow underneath by the wind forming a roll. In the first picture you can see some of the powdery stuff sticking to the lower outside surface of the roll. I suppose it is a natural version of making a snowman.” The Telegraph also said that because of strong winds, snow cylinders could appear more often.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Is the snow rolls real….they look pretty cool…
January 12th, 2010 at 8:23 am
I wish I had some of those in my yard. It’s the lazy person’s version of a snow man, sort of.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:26 am
Those are huge snow balls!!!
January 12th, 2010 at 8:27 am
This is pretty cool.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:30 am
That’s pretty awesome, I wonder if it happens anywhere else???
January 12th, 2010 at 8:31 am
That is so kool.I’ve never heard of anything like that before.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:31 am
That is the dopest thing ever. I wish it did that here.
January 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am
Is seeing more of the snow cylinders a good thing for people globally?
January 12th, 2010 at 8:33 am
how big do the snow balls gett!!?? what happens if they get too big!?
January 12th, 2010 at 8:55 am
those things look crazy
January 12th, 2010 at 9:26 am
This is really neat,
i wish i was there to experience this
January 12th, 2010 at 10:10 am
NEAT-O. i think it would have been cool to have seen these things.
January 12th, 2010 at 10:13 am
I think these self-rolling snow balls are cool, and I would love to see them in person!
January 12th, 2010 at 11:25 am
this is wild and i would like to see it
January 13th, 2010 at 8:27 am
That’s amazing! Iv’e never heard of such a phenomenon. Im definately going to take a trip to UK next time the conditions are right!
January 14th, 2010 at 5:55 am
what if someone got hit with one
January 14th, 2010 at 6:19 am
cool
January 14th, 2010 at 8:06 am
I wish these happend in my yard.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Haha that iz coo
January 14th, 2010 at 8:11 am
Patrick is going to UK to see snowballs. that makes me laugh
January 14th, 2010 at 11:44 am
that looks crazy !!!
January 14th, 2010 at 11:45 am
thats crazyyyyyyy!!!
January 14th, 2010 at 11:51 am
hah jake lol yea right but the snow balls are cool
January 14th, 2010 at 11:55 am
This sounds fun to see. looks cool from the pictures
January 14th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
thats really weird but cool