Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Clouds on the Mountain

Nearly Wordless Wednesday


Wave after wave of storms from the Pacific have been sweeping across New Mexico, and some parts of the state have gotten endless snow over the past week. We have had patterned waves of warm front, low pressure, snow, cold front, high pressure, wind. It has snowed every few days, with bitter cold, sunny and windy days in between. Although this weather has made planning and driving difficult, it has also brought us great beauty.

Today, I am featuring the clouds that have been forming over the Sandia Fault Block a.k.a. the Sandia Mountain Front.

On Sunday morning, following a
light snow-fall,
thin clouds topped the mountains,
like a beret,
and the mountain front held
a lake of fog in the valley like a dam.

Picture by Elisheva Levin, Sunday morning, February 3, 2008.


Dark clouds, heavy with moisture,
roll over the Sandias,
and towering white cumulonimbus clouds
build above Sandia Peak.

Picture by Elisheva Levin, Sunday afternoon, February 3, 2008.






Pink and gold cumulus clouds shadow the hills as the sun rises on new-fallen snow.

The air is still, and bitterly cold, as the sun rises above the ridges behind the photographer.

Picture by Elisheva Levin, Tuesday morning, February 5, 2008.


Cumulus clouds spill over the Sandia Mountain front, as strong winds ahead of a cold front blow snow from the trees on the mountainsides.

Picture by Elisheva Levin, Tuesday noon, February 5, 2008.


Lowering clouds over the Sandia mountain front, as a front passes through. Strong winds whipped up snow across San Pedro in the distant right.

A few minutes later, the mountains were totally obscured as the snow began to fall across the valley.

Picture by Elisheva Levin, Tuesday afternoon, February 5, 2008.

4 comments:

Melora said...

That third picture is just Fabulous! It doesn't look Real, but how gorgeous! Thanks!

Unknown said...

hduaefaAwesome Pictures!
how often do you get snow?

denise said...

Beautiful. One of the things I loved most about living in NM was how big the sky was and how close the clouds were. So nice.

Elisheva Hannah Levin said...

Melora: It does look a bit like "Vanilla Sky" doesn't it?

Kaber: We have been getting these "hit-and-run" snowstorms that last three hours and then noisily blow out toward the midwest. I have my doubts about this La Nina prediction. This seems more like a normal year. We have been getting more snow than is usual for a La Nina year.

Denise: Yes, I would miss that, too. One of things that I love the most about our skies is that sometimes the clouds are below you.