Winter, 2021-22
Observations of Major Winter Storms and Interesting Weather Phenomena
December 15, 2021 Snow Squall,High Wind, Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Event - Rocky Mountains to Upper Midwest and Great Lakes Regions - A Truly exceptional weather event occurs from southwestern CO and northwestern NM all the way northeast to parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the UP of Michigan, including severe snow squalls in CO and NM, some with thunder aand lightning, and later a derecho what went from western KS to parts of MN and WI. And a record number of tornadoes for any day in any month in Iowa - in December! This Webpage includes many links to reports and analysis of this exceptional storm system, with somewhat greater emphasis than other Websites on the severe, high-wind squalls that occurred in CO and NM. Because it included both severe winter weather and severe thunderstorms/tornadoes, this page will be linked both from here and from my 2021 severe weather observation page.
March 29, 2022, Thundersnow in Archuleta County, Colorado - I encounter thundersnow twice. The first time, at the top of Confar Hill along U.S. 84 northeast of Chromo. This yields one of my better thundersnow videos in some time, all ordinary snow (not graupel) with a couple loud rumbles of thunder. Later, I catch more thundersnow along U.S. 160 northeast of Pagosa Springs, this time with relatively more graupel/snow pellets, though some big snowflakes mixed in at times, too. This report includes bideo from both encounters, as well as pictures of the storm northeast of Pagosa Springs when it first formed.
April 14, 2022, Ice Falls on West Side of Wolf Creek Pass, CO - Spectacular icefalls formed after a sudden temperature change along U.S. 160 on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass. Report includes a photo and a description of how these features likely formed.
This page last updated April 15, 2022.
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