A smattering of wet weather mixed with unusually cold temperatures brought an anomaly to San Francisco: hail (that was cosplaying as “snow”).
For many San Franciscans, it was the first time they’d seen any frozen precipitation grace their stoops and outside staircases. February 17th’s chilly weather saw evening citywide lows averaging about 43 degrees Fahrenheit — a far cry from normally freezing temperatures. However, in SF neighborhoods further from downtown and situated in higher elevations, the weather proved fruitful for producing hail.
Unlike snow, hail forms further up in the atmosphere, with precipitation carried up from low-lying rainstorms into high-pressure storm clouds where it’s met with sub-zero temperatures, crystallizing into dense, usually pea-sized ice formations before raining down below. Cold weather conditions exacerbate this pressurized atmospheric event and allow a better chance for these globs of ice to stay intact as they descend.
And it’s that reason why San Franciscans in elevated areas, like those with zip codes Noe Valley and Twin Peaks, especially, were treated to hail piling up in suspiciously snow-like formations. Reddit and Facebook were aflutter with locals posting the icy conditions outside their doorsteps, with many users noting it was the first time they’d seen “snow” on their doorsteps; it was a feeling
Granted, it hasn’t properly snowed in San Francisco in over 50 years; February 5th, 1976, was the last time the city saw a blanket of snow swaddle it. But this month’s wintry wonderland was a nice homage in a period of one climate catastrophe after another.
Feature image: Courtesy of Reddit via [at]mrm395
