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Snow Rollers in Illinois
Ever hear of Snow Rollers? Well neither had I until February 12, 2003.
Here's a weather phenom that appears almost mysteriously, as if someone started building a snowman and then left the rolled balls of snow in the field. Closer inspection shows no footprints in the newly fallen snow.
Snow rollers appear in open fields under specific weather conditions, often present following the passage of a strong winter storm.
First, the ground surface must have an icy, crusty snow, on which new falling snow cannot stick.
On top of this, about an inch of loose, wet snow, the sticky kind that makes good snowballs, must accumulate. The optimum air temperature appears to be around freezing, from 28 to 34 F.
Finally, a gusty and strong wind, usually 25 mph or higher, is needed to build the snow roller.
Snow roller formation begins when the wind scoops chunks of snow out of the snow field, they roll, bounce and tumble, like snowy tumbleweeds, downwind. Additional snow then adheres to this seed, and the snow roller grows until it finally becomes too large for the wind to push, leaving behind a characteristic track linking the snow roller's origin to its final resting spot.
