Somewhat Wordless Snow Day!

NEARLY WORDLESS SPECIAL

Yesterday I did not post a nearly wordless Wednesday.

I had words and only words to post, and completely forgot it was Wednesday.

This morning, however Mother Nature--with the help of El Nino--did just that.

It began snowing right when I took Umbre out for his early morning constitutional.

It was 14 degrees (F) and the snow began.

Our 1 - 3 inches turned into 6 - 8 inches and it snowed steadily until nearly 4 PM.

I didn't know it could snow much at such low temperatures.

The view from the dining room window.

Apparently, it is time to put away the autumn decorations and take out the winter things.

The Menorah can stay. Hannukah begins next Friday, the day before the Chem Geek Princess's Wedding.

Umbre loves snow!
He tunnels in it, he digs it, he snuffs his nose into it, and even eats it.

The little guy is just full of himself!

Umbre was the only one going anywhere today.
Henry, the Big Red Truck, did not get so much as a warm up or a good scraping today.

Although his school was in session, I wasn't going to take the Boychick until I saw a snowplow.

We did not see one until well after East Mountain threw in the towel and closed early.






Nearly sunset, and the sky cleared.
Beautiful.

But the temperature also began to drop precipitously from our daytime high of 14 degrees. By sunset we experienced single digits.

Now the temp is heading across the zero point and into negative numbers.

And the sky is clouding up again as the wind shifts. Could it really snow when its that cold?

They say it might. I'll believe it when I see it!

The March Lion Continues Roaring!

Yesterday afternoon, when N. and I left the house, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and the temperature was 49 degrees (F). We did notice the clouds over the Sandias. And we were aware of the winter storm watch posted for the northeastern quarter of New Mexico. But when I dropped N. off at the library, it was 55 degrees and still sunny in Albuquerque's Northeast Heights. By the time I parked the truck at UNM, the temperature had dropped slightly, the wind had come up, cold and damp. Just before class began, I got a text-message informing me that the East Mountains were under a winter storm warning. Two-and-a-half hours later, as I left class, it was cold and windy and Albuquerque was under a cloud cover. The East Mountains were socked in. Still, I stopped at the grocery store and the pet store on my way home.

There was no snow in Tijeras Canyon, though the wind was strong and the trucks were going only 50 mph. But when I got off the freeway at Zuzax, I was met with flurries. The snow intensified as I climbed Sedillo hill, and the wind drove the snow straight at me, so that my headlights made a tunnel in the snow. And when I turned off on Via Sedillo, the howling wind blew the falling snow across my path, and also picked up the powder on the ground. The little Catholic Chuch was a ghostly presence, and I had to slow to 10 MPH and follow the center line to stay on the road. Still, the roads were wet but not snowpacked. But by the time Bruce and N. got back from Taekwondo a half-hour later, two inches were on the ground. Whoah! The NWS was not kidding about the storm warning this time.

This morning, we woke up to 9 inches,and the snow was still falling. It was a heavy,spring snow, making frosting on the fence, and weighing down the branches. Although the snowplow had not yet made it up our hill, the newspaper guy did. He's got to have 4WD!

We took the "short walk" today, Bruce and I together, because he was waiting on the snowplow. The short walk, around Teypana Drive and then through the meadow and up the hill to our house, usually takes about 20 minutes.

Today, as we broke trail through knee-deep snow in the meadow, it took 50 minutes. But it was so beautiful, the snow on the new fence, piled up with abandon on the shrubs and trees, the sky gray and snow still falling lightly.

In the woods south of the house, the snow was the deepest of all, and we lingered, taking pictures as the dogs broke trail. They were chest-deep in the snow, and moving slowly, snow on their tummies, and frost around their noses. Even their collars were coated in snow and ice.

By the time we got home, they were happy to be there, but it still took nearly ten minutes to sweep off four pairs of boots, two sets of pant legs, eight dog paws, and two dog bellies and chests.

By the time we got inside, the dogs were more than ready for breakfast, and even Zoey, Miss Picky Geriatric Eater, at a full breakfast .

Now the clouds are coming and going, as the center of the storm moves south and east, toward Union County and the Texas State Line.

We are still getting snow off-and-on, but I think it is safe to say that we have already gotten the lion's share of accumulation. My truck is buried, the rain guage is frosted, and the temperature is still well below freezing.

Although Bruce got off to work rather late with the Focus, which has front-wheel drive, I probably will not be going anywhere in the truck. It is not 4WD, and although I can get it down the snow-packed hill--probably--I will not be able to get it back up. So we are home for the day, like it or not.

Frankly, I rather like it. We are having a homeschool snow day, complete with a movie--Letters from Iwo Jima--a part of N.'s World War II study. We'll venture out to shovel a walkway up the drive later, and have hot chocolate made with real cream. I can taste it already!

I'll have to see if I can make it to class tonight. I think not.

And Another Surprise

Last night when we took the dogs out for their last walk, the clouds had enclosed us, and very large, wet flakes were flying at us out of the west. We came in wet and had to dry the dogs with towels.

In the middle of the night, I awoke to Bruce saying, "It's snowing, honey."

I reached for my glasses, and it was lovely.

This morning, we walked out to this enchanting scene. Clouds racing across the sky, and about five inches of snow on the driveway. Sunshine and shadow were playing catch with each other across the pristine snow.

As we walked up Via Sedillo toward the top of our ridge, we looked north to see South Mountain parting a veil of clouds for a momentary chance to shine above the snow-laden trees.

The paper delivery guy had made it down Teypana, and his were the solitary pair of tire tracks on the roads in Rancho Verde.

At the top of the ridge, we walked near Cresta Vista, and marveled at the mountains of clouds to the south across the Juan Tomas valley.

Soon after we took this picture, the clouds closed in, and thick fog rolled across the mountain top, and wove around us, cool and wet.

What a changeable, blustery day.

As we descended along Via Sedillo again, we came below the fog.

As we looked to the north, above the trees, South Mountain was once again hidden in the clouds and fog, which swirled around her so quickly, that we could catch only short glimpses of her ridges and trees.

Here again..and gone! A coy game of hide-and-seek courtesy the clouds and wind.

Later, as we ate breakfast, we watched from the breakfast room window as dark clouds again encroached on a clear blue sky.

The frontal boundary that told us that the snow was not going away by noon, as it did last week.

It is one of those days, one where I feel that I must be near the window most of the time, in order to make sure I do not miss anything new that the clouds and wind bring to the constantly changing vistas.

I keep wondering what happened to La Nina. It must be weak indeed, for the storms and moisture keep on coming from the Pacific across the Southwest, like a normal year. Usually La Nina pushes the storm tracks north, and a high pressure gets parked over the four corners, and we have a dry winter and spring. This year, it is not as intense as an El Nino, but we have above average snow cover on the mountains, more like a normal (not El Nino, not La Nina) year.

I am longing for spring weather, but the beauty of these storms--the clouds, the snow, the sudden glimpses of sunlight--is a blessing, too.

And my mantra has become: ...and we need the precipitation. We need the moisture. This was a particularly good snow, too. Wet and heavy, and five inches of it. Marvelous.

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!

The night we missed the eclipse (for the most part), we took the dogs out for a walk and we could smell moisture in the air.
But it was 45 degrees. So we left the vehicles down the driveway, the boots on the porch, and we went to bed.

Imagine our surprise when we went outside yesterday morning.

The newspaper told the whole story.

A wet, snow about an inch deep over everything, and as we cleared the windows on the truck and car, it started snowing some more.

And of course, the wind was such that the boots and shoes left on the rug by the door were covered.

I walked the dogs in pink walking shoes, my jeans tucked inside my wool socks to keep the hems dry.

Before the walk, I put the step-stool in front of the pellet stove, and the boots were laid out on the step-stool so that the high tops were pointing directly toward the heating draft. Maybe I'd have dry boots for the noon walk.

It was a cold, blustery day, with winds and clouds and more snow showers off and on throughout the morning and afternoon.

Sometimes we got some week sunshine, as you can see on the Adirondack rockers.

They look so--well incongruous--covered in snow.

Our front porch looked like a resort cottage closed for the season.

The snow was beautiful, and we do need the precipitation. But is was hard, hard coming on the heels of a few warm days. Ah, well, February, I always say is a changeling.

Last night we got a light dusting as I was driving home from my late class, but the moon was shining by the time I went to bed.

This morning, the barometer was still low and the clouds were pink and moving swiftly in the dawn sky.

Now it is sleeting and snowing again, a sort of "frozen mix" of all that February can offer.

Just to remind us that it is not spring. Not yet. Winter has a few more tricks up her sleeve.

Well, it's a good night for a hot Shabbat bath.

Shabbat Shalom!

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.

And More Unsettled...

Yesterday went from unsettled to more unsettling.
N. is not the only person who dislikes sudden schedule changes.
Being a midwesterner at heart, I dislike missing commitments.
Even when I have good reason. So following is a photo-essay of why I missed class last night.

January 31, 2008

Dear Professor N.,


Yesterday was a most unsettling day!
This is what it looked like at about 1 PM,
as N. and I were eating lunch.
The storm clouds were sweeping across the Sandia front and into our valley. Still, the snow showers came off and on, and the temperature was about 33 degrees.






At 2 PM, the snow that had covered my driveway was melting in places.
Henry the Big Red Truck had dried himself off by basking in the sunlight that appeared and disappeared as the clouds continued to move briskly across Los Pecos Ridge. So I decided to take a shower and get ready to go. Piece of cake, I thought. I will make it to class.



But when I got out of the shower, my driveway looked like this! Yikes! The temperature had dropped to 23 degrees in half an hour! After consultation with the radio traffic reports, with my husband in town, and with the carpool driver for Machon, and after getting an e-mail from the Sandia Labs East Mountain Drive Updates, we decided that home was definitely the best place to stay. Bruce and MLC even came home early.
We settled in with a video and popcorn to enjoy the blizzard.


And then, as the temperature continued to drop, the wind came up. It stopped snowing over Los Pecos Ridge.
We could see the sky clearing to the west, even as snow continued to fall in Tijeras and in the pass. It did not seem so bad at home, but we could see that the pass would be windy and treacherous.





As the temperature continued to drop,
the cold front came through, with winds strong and fierce. You can see the snow being whipped from north to south along the trees in the high meadow.

The temperature was 16 degrees at this point, and the wind chill was such that in 10 minutes, unexposed skin would be subject to frostbite.

Our road out was drifted. I could probably have gotten into town, but I would not have gotten Henry up the hill later, when coming home. And walking two miles up the hill in this wind would have been life-threatening.

I think I made the right decision.


This morning, we had 1 degree and 5 degrees.
In the predawn, the temperature was 5 degrees above zero. The sky was perfectly clear.

And most spectacularly, Venus and Jupiter were only one degree apart, as they near conjunction in the eastern sky. In the picture, Venus is a faint dot to the left of the tree which is to the left of the right post. If you click on the picture to enlarge it, you will be able to see both planets.

The weather is still unsettled. Cold, with strong winds, is the order of the day. But it should warm up tomorrow. Just in time for another storm to roll in from California this weekend.

Would you accept this excuse?

The State of the Snow

This morning's walk and the very cold weather we've had in the past week brought up a very good question.

We got five inches of snow last week. And the temperature has not got above freezing since then. But the snow looks now like less than five inches, and it is ragged and crunchy where the sun shines on it. But if the temperature has continued well below freezing, then what happened to the snow?

It's a very good question. I really like it when N. asks questions like that. Technically, N. is doing science through his Kamana II studies, which is mainly the ecology of the Sandia Mountains, as well as related natural phenomena. But weather and climate are part of the local ecology.

In the picture to the left and the picture above, you can see that there is no longer a uniform covering of five inches of snow on the ground. Where did it go, indeed!

The answer is not magic, it is sublimation. On earth, matter exists primarily in three states: solid, liquid, and gas, listed here in order of increasing energy. A fourth, and very energetic state of matter, plasma, is not so common on earth, but is very common in the universe.

Normally, we think of snow--a solid state of water--as being removed by melting to become liquid water, which happens when the temperature gets above 32 F (0 C), which is the freezing point for water.

So what is happening in the picture on the right, where there is no water--and, in fact, the temperature was 8 degrees F, which is well below the freezing point? Shouldn't the snow just hang around as a solid until the temperature gets high enough for a phase transition from solid to liquid?

In two words, not always.

Sometimes, when the vapor pressure at the surface of the solid is lower than the triple point for that substance, the whole liquid state is skipped. The state transits directly from a solid to a gas. This kind of phase change is called "sublimation."

Here, in our desert mountains, we lose a lot of snow to sublimation because the air is not capable of holding very much moisture due to altitude. Nor does it retain heat well, because of how dry it is.

This means that on a sunny, very cold day when there is snow on the ground, the sun hits the surface of the snow and as it reflects back, it warms the air above it. This lowers the vapor pressure at the surface of the snow, so that sublimation occurs. Sometimes, when the light is right, you can actually see the waves of water vapor coming off the snow. As sublimation occurs, the snow becomes pitted and crunchy, not from melting and refreezing, but from sublimation.

In the picture, you may notice that the dirt now visible due to loss of snow from sublimation is frozen, and quite dry.

This continued very cold and clear weather due to a high pressure parked over the Four Corners region means that we will not get a lot of mud from melting of this snow cover.

And the 'shoe yekke' in me likes that. This means reduced vacuuming and mopping and washing of rugs.

On the other hand, this very common way for the snowcover to disappear also means that we do not retain as much water in the soil, perpetuating the dryness of our desert mountains.

Science:It's everywhere!

Even on our morning walk.

A Homeschool Snow Day

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

It started Sunday night.

On Monday morning we woke up

to wind and snow.

It was Monday morning, so Bruce had to clear

the snow from the car and creep down the hill.

The snow came in waves.

All day, the clouds would lift, and then more

would come spilling over the Sandia front,

like water over a dam.

When the dogs needed out,

it was an expedition,

into the blizzard winds.

Sometimes, the snow fell

almost like rain,

and sleet, and hail.

And then the wind would blow,

and obscure the mountains again.

On a homeschool snow day, we do math while sipping cocoa.

Blizzard Ends Birthday Weekend with a Bang!

Once again, N. and I beat the storm by a small margin.

Today, we had gone into to town to meet a friend and see Temples and Tombs, an exhibit if ancient Egyptian artifacts on loan from the British Museum to the Albuquerque Museum.

As we were enjoying enchiladas at the Church Street Cafe in Old Town, Bruce called to say that the rain in Albuquerque was slushy stuff at home. We finished with some dispatch, took our friend home and then hit the pet store. It was crowded and we had to wait a few minutes to get crickets for N.'s fire-bellied toads. Bruce called again. The barometer was dropping ominously, and the temperature was dropping as well.

As we were leaving the grocery store, Bruce called once again. It was the dreaded start-home-now-or-regret-it call. I was already merging onto I-40 eastbound as N. took the call.

It was raining in the canyon, and the wind was picking up. By Tijeras, the temperature was 39 degrees and I needed the defroster on. Three miles east and uphill, the temperature was 37 and the ice-warning on the truck thermometer was flashing. The rain had turned to slush coming from the sky.

As we climbed Sedillo hill from Zuxax, it seemed the temperature dropped a degree every thousand feet, and by the time we turned from Old Route 66 onto our road, the slush was very wet snow that was accumulating.

We parked at the top of the driveway, and as we ran down to the house, grocery bags in hand, the wind picked up and it was almost white-out conditions.

We made it!

The slushy stuff was accumulating on the windows on the northwest side of the house (top picture).

The wind was what sailors call a 'veering flaw' at first, the trees blowing this way and that, and white waves coming across the yard. (second picture).

By the time we got the groceries put away, and MLC and Bruce had moved their cars up, the driveway was covered. (this picture).

And it was finally completely clear of all snow and ice for the first time since December 21 just yesterday! Durn it!

Well, it is back to parking above again, and wondering if we will make it into town for tomorrow's activities.

Here at home, we are slated to start doing some math together again tomorrow. That will keep us occupied if we become snowed in.

We are expecting accumulation through the night and through the day tomorrow.

The first wave of the California storm has made it to New Mexico.

In this picture

The Solstice of the Year

A Nearly Wordless Special Edition

Now is the Solstice of the Year!

Winter is the glad song that you hear.


Seven maids move in seven time,
have the lads up ready in a line.

Join together 'neath the mistletoe!

By the Holy Oak where-on it grows.

Seven druids dance in seven time.

Sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming.

Praise be to the distant sister sun!

Joyful as the silver planets run.

Seven maids move in seven time.

Sing the song the bells call, loudly chiming:

Ring out those bells!

Ring out, ring, Solstice bells!

Ring Solstice bells!

May the increasing light bring us light in the darkness of winter.

The poem is song lyrics, Ring Out, Solstice Bells by Jethro Tull. A You-Tube Version is embedded above.

Pictures Credit: All taken by Elisheva Levin, on a Sony Cybershot.

#1: Snow on the windowpane at dusk. December 21, 2007

#2: Snowing by the Aspen. December 21, 2007.

#3: The Solstice Elf's Handiwork Mysteriously Appeared. December 22, 2007.

#4: Snowy Scrub Oak and Pinyon Glade. December 22, 2007.

#5: Solstice Sunrise on Los Pecos Loop Ridge. December 22, 2007

#6: Solstice Sunset Over Cedro. December 20, 2007.

Storm Warning Solstice

Tonight at 23:08 MST (06:08 UT), the earth will be at the point of the Winter Solstice for the northern hemisphere. So today is the Solstice for us, although for those of you east of us, the Solstice is tomorrow very early in the morning.


I took the picture to the right last night, December 20, at approximately 4:41PM. I got out to get a shot of the sunset from a fixed point on my back porch last night, because we already had a winter storm warning posted for today. This is so close to the southernmost point of sunset on the western horizon, that I doubt there would be much difference even if I could take the picture tonight. And I can't, as we shall see.



Here is the best picture I could get of the sunrise this morning. Sunlight can be seen through the thinning in the clouds just above the tree at right center of the picture.
The weather front was already moving in.

Astronomically, the winter Solstice is the time at which the hemisphere experiencing winter is at maximum tilt away from the sun, so that the sun sets directly overhead 23 degrees 27 minutes away from the equator. In our case, winter in the northern hemisphere, the sun sets directly overhead tonight on the Tropic of Capricorn, 23 degrees 27 minutes south of the equator.


I took this picture this morning as we returned from our walk with the dogs. The lowering clouds just over the roof of the house mark the back of the warm air mass bringing moisture from the Pacific. The edge of the clouds just over the mountains represent a cold front swinging down from the northwest. When these two air masses mix over the mountains later today, we will get snow. We are expecting a white solstice, just like last year.




In the modern calendar, the winter solstice is marked as the beginning of astronomical winter. Meteorological winter began on December 1. In the old calendar, the winter solstice is marked as a celebration of midwinter or Yule, because the beginning of winter comes at the fall cross-quarter day, near the beginning of November. The Romans celebrated this day as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis--the Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. Christmas was set at this time in the 3rd century CE. There are many, many holidays in the northern hemisphere that in one way or another, celebrate the birth of light in the midst of darkness. Tonight is the longest night of the year, and today is the shortest day. After tonight, the daylight time will become longer each day. This will happen slowly and unnoticibly at first, but as we come past the spring cross-quarter day, we will notice the difference. This is why, now, in the long dark night of winter, we celebrate in many different ways, the birth of light.


There is no Jewish Holiday that specifically marks the Solstice, however, Hannukah, the Festival of Light, always comes at the dark of the moon that comes before of on the Solstice.

This picture was taken about 20 minutes after the snow began falling this afternoon. N. and I headed into town at about 10:30 this morning. At that time, the sun was shining in a partly cloudy sky and the temperature at the house was 39 degrees. We had several errands in town, to get dogfood, to stop at a big box store to get a new storage container for dogfood, then the bookstore for my favorite holiday blend coffee, and then to pick up some Challah for Shabbat tonight.




This picture was taken about 15 minutes after the picture above. In Albuquerque at noon, it was sunny and 50 degrees. But by the time we got to the bookstore, the Sandia front was swathed in clouds. N. and I made an executive decision to go to the natural food store next to the booksstore to get our Challah. It was very crowded in the food store, and it took us about a half-hour there. It was 2:25 by the time we were driving in rain on Tramway Road, heading for the canyon and home. It started to snow as we left Tijeras, heading uphill for Zuxax. At Sedillo hill, the flakes were smaller and falling faster. The temperature when we got home was 35 degrees. By the time we got the truck unloaded, it was blizzard conditions, and since the start of the storm (1.5 hours ago), we have gotten about 2.5 inches of snow. The wind is wild. We can expect from 5 to 7 inches of snow overnight, and more tomorrow morning. The temperature here is now about 28 degrees and falling.


We are getting ready to light the candles for Shabbat, and I will light an extra one in honor of the longest night of the year. We are snowbound this Solstice, which seems right for Midwinter's Night.

Happy Solstice! Happy New Year!
May the growing light be reflected in your homes!

Happy Yule! May the coming holidays be ones of warmth and joy for all.