What's causing these mysterious sagging snow shapes? A NEXT Weather "investigation"
VIROQUA, Wis. — A WCCO viewer from western Wisconsin sent in the picture below, asking if we'd ever seen anything like it.
The photo shows snow formations hanging like a waiting anaconda on a wooden trellis. Some of the half-loops were hanging down a whole foot, viewer Robert T. said.
Our NEXT Weather team took a look at the drooping snow and put their scientific minds together to come up with an explanation. Here's their informed guess at how something like this could occur:
A formation like this requires multiple elements to come together in a particular way. You need wet snow, a long period of temperatures that oscillate within a few degrees of freezing on either side and light winds.
Initially, the snow would accumulate on the wooden part of the trellis. Over time, because the snow is wet and sticky, it would build outward from the trellis, eventually meeting in the middle. It would bow down as it did because of gravity and a lack of support between the wooden beams of the trellis.
Recent fog and mist could create an icy exoskeleton on the snow, further solidifying and preserving it.
With recent warm weather, Robert said the formations have since fallen.
As always, you can send your weather photos and videos to us at WCCO.com/photos.