Like tumbleweeds, wind forms and blows these snowballs so that they appear to take on a life of their own. (Image: Bill Schultz, Earth Science Picture of the Day)
Everyone has seen images of tumbleweed blowing in the wind.
This image shows what it looks like when the wind rolls its own snowballs.
These snowballs were created by the wind in a field in Ohio, according to Earth Science Picture of the Day, a service provided by NASA’s Earth Science Division that documents naturally occurring phenomenon that highlight the different processes of the world.
If the wind blows strong enough, and snow has just the right packing consistency, then the wind can blow snowballs like these ones, known as “snow rollers.” If the wind changes path, so can the snowballs, leaving tracks in the snow behind.
This phenomenon is not unique to Newcomerstown, Ohio, where this photo was taken in late January by Bill Schultz. Another photo of the same phenomenon also posted on the Earth Science Picture of the Day website, was taken a day later in Honeoye Falls, N.Y.