Yes, yes we do! I think this little disturbance will go down in history as the Blizzard of 2015, the most snow and the worst storm we have had here since 1980. When it hit Saturday night around 6:30, thunder and lightning came with wind that blew in the 35-60 mph range. Thunder snow was new to me and made it even more intimidating. I didn’t take a picture because it would have just been all white, like white granulated fog with about a two foot visibility. I wish I had taken one anyway, because for those of you who have never experienced something like this, you have no idea what it is like. In the picture below, taken Sunday you can get some idea if you look at the snow blowing in front of the trees but imagine it about twenty times thicker. All night long and all day Sunday the wind blew and all you could see outside was a sheet of white.
I don’t know how snowfall is measured when it all piles up in these four and five foot drifts and leaves other places bare, but I did see one report of seven and a half inches in Muleshoe. This picture is taken looking out from our garage at the drive-way and across the street, a street you cannot see because the snow is covering it and the lot on the other side.
The wind finally stopped sometime in the night last night, and we awoke to a blue sky and the sun this morning. So I bundled up, called the dogs, who were eaten up with cabin fever, and off we went to take snow pictures, which I now offer to those of you who can still see grass in your yards. And to my neighbors up here who can compare their drifts to mine.
Our driveway is under this blanket of snow.
Perla was none too happy to discover she couldn’t get out her snow-blocked pet door till Bill shoveled away the snow for her.
What’s fascinating about the wind making snowdrifts is the precision with which it shapes them, leaving a razor-fine line on the top.
The wind covered everything under my shed, shown here, which is normally protected from most forms of precipitation.
I can’t get into the greenhouse, but at least the snow keeps it insulated and holds the heat in.
I have cactus under these drifts that won’t see the light of day for weeks, maybe months, while the snow melts.
This is the dirt road that runs behind the house. No telling how long it will take for that snow to melt or when the county will be able to get a maintainer out there to clear it off. I am 5’3, and this drift was up to my shoulders.
This is at the corner of that road where the drift begins.
The storm left all this snow in these drifts, and little coverage on the pasture, where the melted snow is really needed. The snow was so powdery the wind carried it until it came in contact with something solid, and that’s where the drifts would build up.
My walking path will be out of commission for a while till the snow melts, too. Won’t be moving any mulch from the mulch piles to resurface the path, either.
The back of the house had lots of build-up.
These ripples give some idea as to the constant force of the wind that kept moving the blowing snow before it could settle and stick where it landed.
I always have to take t least one shot of the diamond dust in the snow. Here it is.
While I am out having fun taking pictures, Bill is toiling on the tractor trying to make a path through the snow. Even with the tractor, it is not that easy to move that much snow. The tires spin on the wet drive-way and the snow cakes up in the bucket, making each load smaller and smaller.
Finally, it is done. Well, with a little finish work with a plain old snow shovel to follow.
Snow is seductive and beautiful when it is untainted and pristine. But after the pictures are taken, the sun shines down, and daily living sets in, the reality hits that the mess comes next. Clichéd as it is, beauty is indeed sometimes fleeting, so I choose to take my pictures and revel in the grandeur while it lasts.
For a view of the thunder snow and an overview of the storm, go to Gil Lamb Advertising/Channel 6 at the link below and watch the whole thing play out. My thanks goes to Gilrobert Rennels, former student and friend for allowing me to share this video with you.
Mom, your house looks so cool under all that snow! I cannot get my car out of the garage, because there is a perfect wall of snow about 8 feet tall blocking it in!
Beautiful & amazing pictures, Alice. Love seeing all of them. My favorites are the ripples in the snow & the diamond dust. But as you say, beauty is fleeting and then reality has to hit of clean up, etc. Bless you for taking all of these and sharing them with us. Stay warm.