SNOW in hot deserts tends to be an unusual sight, but this recent snap of the white-capped expanse of the Sonoran desert, which covers more than 250,000 square kilometres in the US and Mexico, is even rarer than most.
What makes the scene so special is the fact that this area is known for having a subtropical climate , while remaining mild during the winter months. But photographer managed to capture images of the ground earlier this month when it was blanketed in 10 centimetres (4 inches) of snow, albeit just for a fleeting 4 hours 鈥� something that, according to him, hasn鈥檛 occurred in a decade.
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Dykinga, who has been photographing this desert for more than 40 years, says he felt 鈥減ure joy and wonder, along with anxiety鈥� as he hurried to reach the optimum locations to document the snow before it all melted.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very rare to see this amount,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n the south-west desert in a long drought period, it鈥檚 a time to celebrate!鈥�
It isn鈥檛 totally clear why the snowfall happened, but it was in part due to the La Ni帽a weather event, which is the result of the sea surface temperature in parts of the Pacific Ocean periodically dropping below average. Another factor was cold air blowing over from the Arctic.
