SANDNESS, Scotland – A farming couple in Scotland was treated to a rare sight when a “snow devil” spun up across the frozen countryside earlier this week.
A cold snap was reported across the United Kingdom this week, prompting local forecasters to issue winter weather alerts because of the snow and ice that was expected.
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Michael Peterson posted the video to Facebook and said his wife, Frances, recorded it on her phone while they were out feeding their sheep during the winter weather.
A snow devil is a rare phenomenon that occurs when there is a large difference in temperature between warmer air near the surface and colder air a few hundred feet above the ground.
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The World Meteorological Organization says wind shear – the change in wind speed and/or direction – near the surface will then generate a vortex over the snow, resulting in a spinning column of snow that is lofted into the air.
A snow devil is also known as a “snownado,” though it isn’t actually a tornado and is much weaker.