Snow

So here we are in this lovely sub-tropical island, land of eternal spring. And the top of the mountain is covered with snow.

Last night’s rain turned into a storm, with far too much thunder and lightning to sleep through. It went on for hours.

And this morning, I could see snow on the mountain. Not just the peak (the Roque de los Muchachos at 2426 m or 7,959 ft), which was covered in cloud, but much lower down, too.

Of course, we only ever get snow at high altitude, and these days, we don’t get snow every winter. But when it snows, it can dump several feet in one night.

The Roque is one of the three best sites in the world for astronomy, so there’s a major international observatory up there. Of course, they expect occasional snow, so they’re geared up for it. They have 4×4 vehicles, and in winter they carry snow chains and shovels, just in case. Unless it’s cloudy, they carry right on observing.

This is the Isaac Newton Telescope, looking Christmassy.

Posted by sheila

Sheila came to La Palma with a six month contract and has stayed 24 years so far. She used to work as a software engineer at the observatory, but now she's a writer and Starlight guide.