This image shows an isolated band of snowfall on the ground, an illustration of a snowfall gradient, or the difference in snowfall amounts between areas.
How is it possible that you have to shovel a foot of snow from your driveway, yet your friend one town over doesn't see a single flake?
The image above from Reddit user JCcapsboy11 shows just that – a narrow band of snow on the ground with vast areas around it left untouched.
The photo illustrates what's known as a snowfall gradient, or the difference between snowfall amounts from one area to the next.
"It's fairly common and can happen anywhere that gets snow showers," said weather.com meteorologist Brian Donegan. "However, in the dead of winter, when many areas are snow-covered, it would be more difficult to visually see the gradient because the surrounding areas would already have snow on the ground. In this case, the ground was bare, so the area of snow easily stands out."
It's similar to driving through heavy rainfall one minute and only a few drops the next.
The photographer who snapped the image commented on Reddit that the scene was captured during a flight from Seattle to New York City, likely somewhere over Minnesota. Narrow bands of snow are often seen in Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service, and can vary depending on the amount of moisture in the atmosphere and other factors.
Such gradients are often seen in lake-effect snow.
"One town could get 2 feet of snow, while the next town over is seeing sunshine or just flurries," Donegan said.
The phenomenon can make predicting snowfall amounts difficult because it's hard to know where – or if – such bands will form.
"Computer forecast models have a hard time determining where these gradients will set up, so that could cause snowfall forecasts to be either underestimated or overestimated," Donegan said.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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