Despite doing it for decades, every year of storm observing brings new sights and adventures. This qualifies. After a round of severe thunderstorms rolled off the Bighorn Mountains, a wake low in their trailing outflow pool reversed the easterly flow to a northwesterly direction easily channelized and enhanced in that canyon. In so responding, the winds shook enormous amounts of pollen out of the evergreens in the mountains. At first this sight perplexed us. No fires were burning, the ground was too wet for dust, and the coloration was too yellow-green for either smoke or the soil composition there anyway. Then we remembered seeing a video of similar phenomena in the Alps, under fair skies, and realized that a “pollen storm” was happening.
4 NE Buffalo WY (7 Jun 18) Looking W
44.374, -106.6386Pollen Storm in the Bighorns
Despite doing it for decades, every year of storm observing brings new sights and adventures. This qualifies. After a round of severe thunderstorms rolled off the Bighorn Mountains, a wake low in their trailing outflow pool reversed the easterly flow to a northwesterly direction easily channelized and enhanced in that canyon. In so responding, the winds shook enormous amounts of pollen out of the evergreens in the mountains. At first this sight perplexed us. No fires were burning, the ground was too wet for dust, and the coloration was too yellow-green for either smoke or the soil composition there anyway. Then we remembered seeing a video of similar phenomena in the Alps, under fair skies, and realized that a “pollen storm” was happening.
4 NE Buffalo WY (7 Jun 18) Looking W
44.374, -106.6386