Here was a cold but peaceful farm scene, two days after central Oklahoma’s Christmas Eve blizzard of 2009. The more sheltered hay bales at rear sported snow caps, unlike the better-exposed bale close by. Obstacle flow around the solo bale scoured out the dry moat in the snow. The resulting patch of visible ground actually was teardrop-shaped, bigger on the right than on the left because the prevailing wind in the blizzard blew from the NW (left). A plume of turbulent flow downstream (SE of the bale) prevented snow from settling on the ground. On the left side, a windward barrier flow, akin to a fast-moving ship’s bow wave, kept the snow from accumulating against that side of the bale bottom.
6 ESE Norman OK (26 Dec 9) Looking NE
35.2037, -97.3603