Ice work! ‘Snow rollers’ spotted in a British field are revealed to be an ‘extremely rare’ meteorological phenomena (and not children messing about)
- Images show six ‘snow rollers’ a rare weather event that was spotted in a field in Wiltshire
- Circular formations are made as snow is blown along by the wind collecting more snow, layer by layer
- Forestry worker Brian Bayliss, 51, captured the pictures in his field in Marlborough just after sunrise
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Stunning pictures show an unusual cold weather phenomenon known as ‘snow rollers’ which formed in a British field during the this weekend’s snow system.
Brian Bayliss, 51, spotted the six unusual snow formations as he drove past his field in Marlborough, Wiltshire last Sunday.
The cylindrical wheels of wispy snow were about 2-3ft (0.6 – 0.9m) in diameter and 2ft (0.9m) wide and had long trails in their wake.
Mr Bayliss thought that children had been playing in his field so went to take a closer look but was amazed to discover there wasn’t a single footprint.
He sent them to a weather expert who told him they were an ‘extremely rare’ meteorological condition.
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Although they look as though they are sculpted by hand, they are in fact the product of the right balance between sticky snow, strong winds and cold temperatures. These incredible pictures show rare ‘snow rollers’ that formed in a British field during the recent snow storm
Snow rollers form when wind pushes snow across the ground, gathering it into a hollow cylinder.
Bigger snow rollers can be a few inches wide and travel a couple feet, leaving trails behind in their wakes, although more condensed and squished versions can occur.
In order for them to form, there must be a light dusting of snow on top of an icy layer on the ground, often on a hill with no protruding vegetation.
The dusting needs to be just wet enough so that it can adhere to itself but not stick to the ground, according to the National Weather Service.
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The wind will blow a small chunk of ice along the ground, leaving it to collect more snow, layer by layer.
While wind helps to form some of the rollers, bigger ones, like these, tend to form by rolling down a hill.
Mr Bayliss said: ‘I was driving to work on Saturday morning and I saw them in my field. It’s at a very high elevation, about 700ft, so the snow was quite deep up there.
‘I thought it was kids rolling snowballs, but as I got closer I saw there were no footprints in the field.
‘I took some pictures and went on with my day, then came over later in the day and they had slumped over and deteriorated, I must have got them at the right time.’
Brian Bayliss, 51, spotted the six unusual snow formations as he drove past his field in Marlborough, Wiltshire last Sunday. The cylindrical wheels of wispy snow were about 2 – 3ft in diameter and 2ft wide and had long trails in their wake
Snow rollers form when wind pushes snow across the ground, gathering it into a hollow cylinder. Bigger snow rollers can be a few inches wide and travel a couple feet, leaving trails behind in their wakes
WHAT IS A SNOW ROLLER AND HOW ARE THEY FORMED?
A snow roller is a rare meteorological phenomenon in which large snowballs are formed naturally as chunks of snow are blown along the ground by wind.
They are also known as ‘snow bales,’ ‘wind snowballs,’ or ‘snow donuts.’
They are formed when wind pushes snow across the ground, gathering it into a hollow cylinder.
Although some formations appear more squashed than others, bigger snow rollers can be a few inches wide and travel downhill leaving trails behind in their wakes.
There must be a light dusting of snow on top of an icy layer on the ground, often on a hill or other expanse with no protruding vegetation.
Forestry worker Mr Bayliss, 51, said he had ‘never seen anything like it before’ and when he got closer he ‘could see the sun through the middle, and they just made no sense’.
He captured the images shortly after sunrise on Saturday and sent his images to the BBC, and their weather expert Ian Fergusson recognised them.
‘Ian Fergusson, their weatherman, saw them and got one of their team to call me and tell me it’s a really rare phenomenon.
‘He told me they were some of the best pictures he’s ever seen, it all kind of snowballed from there.’
In order for them to form, there must be a light dusting of snow on top of an icy layer on the ground, often on a hill with no protruding vegetation. The dusting needs to be just wet enough so that it can adhere to itself but not stick to the ground, according to the National Weather Service
Forestry worker Mr Bayliss, 51, said he had ‘never seen anything like it before’ and when he got closer he ‘could see the sun through the middle, and they just made no sense’. He captured the images shortly after sunrise on Saturday and sent his images to the BBC
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Fergusson added: These are truly beautiful photos of a very rare meteorological phenomenon – called snow rollers or snow bales. Brian was very lucky to see these.
‘Conditions have to be just right for snow rollers to occur: a smooth, un-vegetated hillside, such as in this case near Marlborough, enhances the chance of them being formed.
‘A layer of thin snow, settled atop existing ice and not sticking to it, combined with specific temperature, moisture level and wind speed, are fundamental to the creation of these natural oddities.’
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