On a recent cold and cloudy day, about twenty large snow flakes came down in front of me. They were caught in something like a very mild whirlwind. The flakes circled several times and gradually fell to earth. The whirlwind was about 12’ wide. No other flakes appeared. It never snowed that day.

Is this something your people up north often experience? I have never seen it before. I was sober.

Nope not me. When it snows, it snows

Mini snownado

Rarely snows around here but it has never swirled around

I have seen something similar on a larger scale. Thirty-some years ago I was framing a house on a ridge overlooking a huge valley. It was a sunny but cold and breezy day in early March.

A large group of individual clouds moved up the west end of the valley towards me and my crew. Columns of snow 200-300 yards wide were falling for the individual clouds, many lit by the sun which was still out. When one would cross over us, there would be a whiteout for several minutes until it passed and the sun would return.

This went on sporadically most of the afternoon. I've never seen anything quite like it before or since.

I saw that in the Frosty the Snowman cartoon, but never in real life.

Keith

A whirlwind or dust devil? See them year around up here. Seen them carry fire across the line on a prescribed burn.