Thermal Thursday: Winter Steam Clouds

Winter in Yellowstone is probably one of the more drastic changes in a couple months that you can see anywhere on this continent. The wildflowers whither, the temperature plummets, and suddenly the ground is covered in a couple inches to several feet of snow for several months. Everything in the Park slows down almost to a crawl, that is, except for the Geysers.

Old Faithful erupting in Winter

In the winter, it seems that the only change that occurs to the geysers is that now even the smallest sput (a nickname Gazers have given to the little guys) can be seen, their steam columns become about ten times bigger, and it looks like a bomb has gone off whenever one erupts on the Old Faithful Streaming Camera.

Due to the increased visibility of the steam and from colder temperatures, Geysers begin to show visible steam "streamers" that are attached to every single drop that sputters out of them. At some points, the temperature becomes so cold that the streamers can be seen from the Webcam at Old Faithful. 

Sawmill Geyser erupting with streamers going nearly straight up.
Photo courtesy of Graham Meech

Despite the seemingly unchanged nature of the geysers during the winter, there is one geyser however, that is of considerable interest. Aurum Geyser, it is a small cone type geyser that erupts to about 30 feet for a minute and a half. During the summer it is a constant frustration of Geyser Gazers because of it's very erratic behavior, erupting 4 hours apart one time, and then taking a 48 hour break the next. Then something interesting happens. As summer gives way to winter. Aurum becomes practically predictable. it's eruptions about 4 hours apart. This winter, it was 4 hours 8 minutes +/- 12 minutes.

Aurum Erupting in the Summer

It is thought that the reason that this behavior occurs is because Aurum Geyser may be the only geyser in Yellowstone National Park that is affected by short term whether changes. If you want to accurately judge how frequent Aurum is, take a quick look at the grassy meadow behind it. If the meadow is wet and somewhat marshy, Aurum will probably be a bit more frequent. If the Meadow is dry. Then Aurum is probably reverting back to it's nickname graciously bestowed upon it by gazers over the years , "$&#@$&! Geyser". So with that theory it makes sense that Aurum is more common in the winter, the heat in the ground constantly melts the snow that falls on it, soaking that meadow for most of the Winter. In the summer there is little precipitation to wet the meadow, which means that Aurum is all over the place.  However, if there is a spell of rain or a thunderstorm in the park, Aurum will usually become more regular for a couple eruptions. but then it will become more erratic again. 

Aurum Steam trails this January. Photo Courtesy of  Graham Meech

In terms of Geyser Gazing, Winter is a challenging season. The Geysers keep going full steam ahead but there aren't people there to watch and observe them 24/7 like in the summer. The biggest reason for this is that time is limited in the Geyser Basins during the winter, since the only access to the Basins is via a special National Park "Snowcoach" and the tours are timed, so you can't just take your time and sit several hours at a geyser, you have to keep moving. You can get into the park for a day snowcoach or snomobile tour for relatively cheap. But for those who want an extended stay, such as the Gazers, it's a harder nut to crack because you would have to either rent a room at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge or rent a cabin.

On of the numerous Snowcoaches that deliver Visitors to different destinations around the park during winter
Photo Courtesy of Graham Meech

The second reason that Winter is a challenge for gazers is simply because it's hard to get around because of the thick snowpack and it's hard to stay in one place for a long period of time because of the sometimes below freezing temperatures. These difficulties are further worsened by fact that the spray from the geysers often freezes instantaneously wherever it lands, if this happens to be a boardwalk. Watch out!

Winter in Yellowstone, one of the more unique seasonal changes on the continent. Who's up for some snowy Geyser Gazing?