John Metcalfe
John Metcalfe was CityLab’s Bay Area bureau chief, covering climate change and the science of cities.
Earlier this year, when the South got socked by an unusually heavy winter storm, this site had a bit of fun exploring the region’s pitiful attempts at building snowmen. Whether from lack of experience, or paucity of good-quality snow, Southerners invariably wound up creating monstrosities like this:
@FOX4 Me and my Dad built a snowman in Rio Vista Texas lol pic.twitter.com/AUMBnu2dFg
— Meghan Dixon (@MeghansHeart) February 26, 2015
Well, with a cold-weather system dropping plentiful powder as far south as Flagstaff—in fact, the city broke its historic accumulation record for November 4 with at least 8 inches—it’s time to ask the question: Can Arizonans make a snowman that won’t provoke uncontrollable guffaws?
Yes! Perhaps because the state isn’t a stranger to annual snow, locals have evinced a professionalism toward fabricating frozen golems similar to residents of Vermont and Alaska. These two chaps are almost textbook quality, for instance:
And this one’s pretty good, albeit a little dirty:
Even a case of trench mouth can’t remove this frosty friend’s charm:
First snowman, he's a little ugly but he was made w love ft. @pressley_devynn ❄️☃ pic.twitter.com/hdZmJgcYAP
— Sedona⚡️ (@CSedona) November 4, 2015
Another laudable effort, though suffering from pinkeye:
❄️ young jeezy the snowman ❄️ pic.twitter.com/iX05pmAcG8
— brittany (@brittanyforks) November 4, 2015
With its pine-needle whiskers, this thing might actually be a snowbunny:
First snowman of the season #snow #Flagstaff pic.twitter.com/bIcEH90aAG
— Angele (@AngeleOutWest) November 4, 2015
Credit the minimal appearance here to the maker’s “first ever Snowman!!!”:
Blues Brothers meets hydrocephalus with this bulgy individual:
Weather: Rain, drizzle slows Phoenix-area commute; Flagstaff sees snow https://t.co/20YGq7ZU6q via @HenleMark pic.twitter.com/xkMwC5Zuad
— Michael Meister (@photomeisterAZR) November 4, 2015
The Grand Canyon endured blizzard conditions yesterday, allowing the construction of mini-yetis like this dude and the one at the top of this post: