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More Before and After Pictures

Here are some more before and after pictures after snowstorms have moved through. They can be pretty or even beautiful to look at, but these places can be a tad uncomfortable to be out in. This is the main reason that I highly recommend that people visit these places, but not in the wintertime. 

We were fortunate. Yesterday, we had freezing rain that coated everything in ice, then it melted off. Last night, the snow started to fall, but we got less than an inch here on the valley floor.

Logan mountain 1

This is Logan Mountain in Glacier National Park, taken on the 27th of December. It looks gorgeous, especially with the backdrop of blue skies. The snow is only a couple of feet deep.

Logan Mountain 2

On the first day of the year, Logan Mountain didn't look quite as appealing. The snow was falling and winds were making it drift. It is cold in this image, boys and girls.

Logan Mountain 3

This is from today. Snow is falling and the wind is gusting. The depth of the snow is nearly double that of the first picture. Drifts have already covered the bases of some of the trees.

Glacier National Park Headquarters

This is how the headquarters of Glacier National Park looked this morning. This image doesn't have a before and after, but it is interesting to see the 'snow-family' that industrious kids made on the picnic table in the center of the image. There is a Mr. Snowman, Mrs. Snowman, and their pet snow dog.

Notice the picnic table to the right. Most of the snow that is on it is from the storm that is going through right now and it looks to be close to a foot deep.

Crater Lake headquarters Jan 1

Montana isn't the only place that gets snow. Here is Crater Lake headquarters, in Oregon, on January 1. The snow depth is only about 4 feet and there is plenty of blue sky. The roads have recently been plowed in this image.

Crater Lake headquarters 2

This is Crater Lake headquarters today, on the 7th. The roads are still well-plowed, but the snow depth is approaching 6 feet and the sky is heavily overcast with snow clouds, so it might get more. 

Crater Lake south entrance

Here is the south entrance to Crater Lake National Park as it looked on the 27th of December. The snow is about two and a half feet, the skies are blue, and the kids are playing. It looks rather pretty, huh?

Crater Lake south entrance 2

Here is what the south entrance looks like today. The snow depth is around 4 feet and the overcast is threatening to drop more snow. At times like this, road crews are working almost continuously to keep the roads plowed, even during a government shutdown. Not doing so would put the people living at the park at personal risk, so there are emergency funds available for the task.

There are no kids playing in this image. I wonder why?

Old Faithful in Yellowstone

The snowstorm also dropped snow in Yellowstone National Park. Here is the view today at the Old Faithful geyser. People are still enjoying the periodic eruptions, though they have to brave the snow. From the look of it, the snow is only a few inches deep.

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What do you think?

Written by Rex Trulove

9 Comments

  1. I agree with your reply about the snow to Carol. My sister hates snow but that is because she is the driver while me I do not even know how to drive (you would not like to see me behind a wheel, believe me) so often I walk or take the bus or a cab all depending on how far I have to go. If I can walk it I will even though there is snow. But I hate walking during the summer’s big heat waves as the humidity simply oppresses me and makes me sweat. Are the summers humid in Montana, I wonder? Anyway, thank you for sharing your beautiful snowy white pictures with us. They are sensational.

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    • In the summer, our humidity usually isn’t great…often in the 30% to 50% range, though there have been times we’ve been above 90. During the fire season, our problem is actually the opposite; extremely low humidity. Two years ago, when we had a very bad fire year, our humidity was about 10% to 15% for several weeks. That is dangerously low humidity even for people who weren’t fighting fire. It is also deceptive. A person sweats, but the sweat evaporates the moment it touches the skin, so a person can become seriously dehydrated in a short time, all without realizing it until they pass out.

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  2. In my part of the world, that amount of snow would snarl traffic for months. What am I saying, anything snarls traffic in DC.

    Really love the before and after pictures!

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    • Thank you. I’m glad you liked them. In a lot of places, this would snarl traffic. We’re used to it here. There were a LOT of people here who were honestly amazed when the big storm hit in 2014 and 3 inches of snow caused the closure of freeways in Georgia and Alabama. Over and over I heard people saying, “Three inches? That’s nothing!” We’d just been clobbered by three feet of snow at the time. However, most people in the deep south have no idea how to drive in any snow and honestly don’t know what to do.

      As for DC, you’re right. If someone sneezes hard, instant snarl as half of DC tries to figure out how to blame Trump and the other half argues the point, not counting the tiny percentage who would be pointing out that one had nothing to do with the other.

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      • Your first comment made me laugh! I remember learning to drive in snow in Wisconsin. I worry now more about other drivers!

        As for your trump comment. While I understand you feel that way, I would say this “if you are the first person to point the finger, you have to be willing to accept blame as well.”

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        • The ‘other driver’ is definitely the concern. When I was living in the Oregon Cascades, I had to simply shake my head when Portland, Oregon would close schools and businesses when they got a half-inch. In southern Oregon, nothing closed due to snow unless there were blizzard conditions. That was very rare. A couple of feet of snow in 24 hours was common, though. Again, people in Portland just don’t know how to drive in it and the freeways aren’t set up for snow or snow removal.

          Your point about the first person pointing the finger should accept blame as well is well taken. The pity is that the news media, who are usually among the first to point fingers, justified or not, refuse to take any blame for anything. They’ve said as much.

          One example of the silliness is when the news media blame the government shutdown on Trump. They’d have a point if the budget ever reached Trump’s desk and he vetoed it, but the budget never made it through the Senate. Thus, the shutdown had to have been at the Congress/Senate level, not at the executive level. The news media has been partly to blame, but mostly just from the aspect of misreporting. I don’t think they actually had anything to do with the shutdown.

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          • In fairness, Trump actually did confuse congress by saying he would accept (and then reversing position). Plus, in the meeting with the Democratic leadership he claimed ownership (proudly) of the shutdown.

            Other drivers make me nervous. I saw one nearly sideswipe a car today, because they were in a hurry to get past.

            I would, however always like to see caution with school kids and snow!