![Rare ‘Snow Devil’ Engulfs Skiers at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont](http://townsquare.media/site/999/files/2021/01/snownado-stowe-vermont.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Rare ‘Snow Devil’ Engulfs Skiers at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont
Skiers waiting in line for the lift at Stowe Mountain Resort in Vermont recently witnessed a rare weather phenomenon, a snow devil or snownado, a whirlwind of snow.
After a crazy 2020, now we have to worry about snownados in 2021? Don't worry, it is nothing too crazy, but still, a very interesting weather event to watch. The video below of a "snow devil" was recently shot in Stowe, Vermont and it is a sight to see.
So what is a "snow devil?" According to the Weather Channel, the snow devil is a rare weather phenomenon caused when strong, mountaintop winds shear with light winds along the ground. The two combine to create a vortex and hence a "whirlwind" of snow. The Weather Channel says the Stowe ski area mountain terrain created the right conditions for this to occur and that these "snow devils" can get pretty strong. They have been known to lift objects as heavy as 1,500 pounds! While this one in the video below looks a little scary, the Weather Channel says no one was injured during this rare tornado-like event. Here is the recent video from Stowe:
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If you do a search for snow devils on YouTube, there are quite a few interesting videos of the weather phenomenon, including this one from Austria.
While the two examples above are more like stationary whirlwinds of snow, it seems these bad boys can move across the terrain as well like this snow devil that popped up in Norway.
So there you have it. Snow can literally be the devil.
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