A stunning photo unveiling the Gran Desierto de Altar, a part of North America’s Sonoran Desert, blanketed in the snow was captured on camera earlier this month. And the pic has been going viral on social media. For the uninitiated, the Sonoran Desert spans 120,000 square miles and includes parts of Arizona, California, and the states of Sonora, Baja California and Baja California Sur in northwest Mexico as well as the southwestern United States. It should come as no surprise that it rarely experiences chilly weather with summer temperatures often reaching over 50°C.
However, recently an unusual weather condition brought a massive snowstorm to the region. This led to the first blizzard warning in decades since 1989. Following this, portions of the Sonoran Desert received nearly about 10 centimetres of snow in the region.
A portion of the Sonoran Desert, which covers 100,000 square miles across the US states of Arizona and California as well as the Mexican provinces of Sonora and Baja California Sur, saw two to four inches of snow.
Landscape photographer Jack Dykinga, winner of the Pulitzer Award, captured the photo of the snow-covered region on March 2.
It hasn’t snowed there in ten years, said Mr. Dykinga, who has been capturing beautiful shots of the Sonoran Desert since 1976. He continued, calling the scenes “absolute magic, seeming out of place, and startlingly gorgeous.”
“This winter, there has been a lot of snowfall in the western US. At Flagstaff, Arizona’s northernmost city, more than 11 feet of snow have fallen- the most in more than 70 years. There has been a record-breaking 40 feet of snow in California,” Dykinga stated.
A persistent blocking pattern over the Pacific, combined with cold air moving south from the Arctic, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Bianca Feldkircher, provided the conditions for heavy snowfall along the West Coast.
Winter temperatures in the Sonoran Desert are lower than summer ones, which often exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) and reach a scorching 118 degrees Fahrenheit (48 degrees Celsius).
Several users have commented on the picture on Twitter. One user wrote, “Cacti in the Sonoran desert, Arizona, are topped with snow in what meteorologists described as a ‘once in a generation event.” Another user commented, “We were just there and lucky enough to witness a bit of snow on the saguaros. The Sonoran Desert looks gorgeous in the snow.” One user also wrote, “The Sonoran Desert is a magical place.”
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