Thunder snow

The weather wizard provided a gift of relative warmth this morning, trying to keep me happy before throwing a (predicted) stong, cold wind my way. Late morning, the temperature was in the mid 30s, and while the sky was gray, there was no moisture falling. I headed out for a brisk walk. I walked under a dry sky, then in snow, then in a little rain, then snow again. By the time I got home the sky had stopped leaking moisture. Ah... time for a quiet, relaxing afternoon.

I was sitting, reading, relaxing, when I realized that it was getting dark. Dark? It was just 2 in the afternoon, but the sky was getting dark, snow was flying, and I could hear thunder... thunder snow!

It was a short bout of snow and wind and thunder, followed by a clearing sky. I couldn't resist a wander under a blue sky decorated with flying white and gray clouds, so I headed to a park just few miles down the road for a walk with my camera.

Walking on the icy surface of this pond didn't seem like it would be too smart, although tracks across the surface showed me that other people don't share my caution. It still held branches and scattered debris on a bed of bumps. (And no, I didn't walk on the possibly unstable ice!)

The temperature was hovering near freezing. Tiny pieces of ice sparkled, dressing pine needles and branches alike.