Residents of the Shetland Islands, located in the North Sea between the United Kingdom, Iceland and Norway, captured footage of a watershed passing through a blizzard last Tuesday (7/3).
Terrestrial hurricanes are similar in appearance, occur in aquatic areas, and generally have a shorter duration than those formed on land. According to Metzul’s explanation, this rare formation is the result of the encounter between cold air and warm water off the British coast.
Through social networks, Scottish farmer Michael Peterson witnessed the phenomenon while tending to his sheep this week. See:
Known as “snownatos” – a portmanteau of the words snow and tornado -, snow eddies are rare because they depend on very specific weather scenarios:
A cold air mass moving over a relatively warm surface is warmed by sunlight;
A gathering of air currents to form the classic circulation of a hurricane;
Or, a sudden change in wind direction or speed.
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