It’s not
often you see the Grand Canyon, or the American southwest in general, liberally
scattered with snow but it turns out when you do, boy is it pretty.
Photos have
been emerging of already beautiful natural scenes from Arizona to New Mexico
looking even more stunning after an unusual cold snap in the west hit over
Christmas and the New Year.
— Cassell Archinuk (@Cassyarch) January 2, 2019
Good morning, New Mexico! Here at our office, we picked up about 2 inches of snow yesterday. How much did you get? Let us know and where you are located! #nmwx pic.twitter.com/MrMzZrH5wR— NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) January 2, 2019
While the
northeast, from Washington to Boston, has been experiencing an unseasonably
mild winter, throughout December, snowfall in the southwest ranged from 1
centimeter (0.4 inches) in Tuscon, Arizona, to 46 centimeters (18 inches) in
Los Alamos, New Mexico, and even a reported 51 centimeters (20 inches) in
Mountainair, 70 kilometers (44 miles) south of Alberquerqe. Even Southern
California saw some.
Snow in the Sonoran Desert is such a beautiful and otherworldly sight. #tucson #arizona #sonorandesert #snow pic.twitter.com/2FgQBCtaM1— Arizona Illustrated (@azIllustrated) January 3, 2019
Seeing the Sonoran Desert capped with snow might be my favorite yet 😍😍 Look at the saguaros asking for hugs to stay warm?! 💙 pic.twitter.com/OWMSPTrhWG— Lydia (@1NativeSoilNerd) January 2, 2019
Another look at the snow this morning in Saguaro National Park. Such a beautiful scene! #azwx pic.twitter.com/bkkIdK8Dkr— John Sirlin (@SirlinJohn) January 2, 2019
— Truth Is YouMatter (@TruthIsUMatter) December 31, 2018
Sedona, a
desert town in the Coconino National Forest, famous for its stunning red rock
buttes and canyons, was also blanketed in a snowy covering.
Beautiful roads today #sedona #sedonaarizona #arizona #snow @SedonaAZ @ArizonaTourism pic.twitter.com/00tKAUc2fh— Veronique Derouet (@vederouet) January 2, 2019
Snow - in the Grand Canyon of USA— Willi H2O (@Willi_H2O) January 4, 2019
New Years kicks off to a neat start 2019 pic.twitter.com/uGmhAo4k8w
So where has
it all come from? According to the Washington Post, a deep pool of cold air at
very high altitudes has been hanging over the region for the last week or so.
It is beginning to pass now and temperatures will soon return to normal.
Snow in
these parts of the US is certainly rare, but not unheard of. Just like the
occasional snow in the Sahara, or the Atacama desert - the driest place on
Earth - bursting into flower, it is related to weather phenomena like El Nino,
which are exacerbated by climate change, and we'll likely be seeing them with
increasing frequency in the coming years.
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