Unusual snow rain in Sapa

In the morning on the high mountains of Lao Cai like Sa Pa and Y Ty, snowfall appears dense. Tourists enjoy admiring the fascinating natural phenomenon, but for scientists, this is an unusual snowfall.

Snow covered white roof - Photo: Manh Tan

Strong intensity of northeast monsoon winds, Lao Cai is sunk in cold, damaging cold. In the early morning of yesterday, the temperature in Lao Cai went down to a very low level: Bac Ha 5.4 degrees C and Bao Yen 10.7 degrees C. In particular, the temperature in the mountainous areas has decreased very deeply, Sa Pa and Y Ty commune (H.Bat Xat) is only 0 degrees Celsius.

Snow covered 10 - 20 cm thick

Snow rain covered the white area of ​​O Quy Ho Pass, Sa Pa Town and Y Ty Commune. ' The whole of Sa Pa and Y Ty is submerged in frost and snow with the common thickness of 10 - 12 cm, there are places up to 15 - 20 cm ', Mr. Luu Minh Hai, Deputy Director of Project Center Lao Cai meteorological newspaper announced. According to Mr. Hai, snow in Sa Pa ended at 10:30, then 45 minutes the snow also stopped falling at Y Ty when the temperature had inched up.

In Ha Giang, on the morning of March 16, snowfall also appeared on a large scale in Dong Van district. Snow falls in a layer of 7-10 cm thick in Pho Bang town, Pho La, Lung Cu, Lung Tao, Ma Le and Sa Phin communes. At Po Lu village (Dong Van town), A Thi Thanh village (Ma Le commune) is the thickest snowfall, covering the roof and garden.

' Heavy snowfall at this time is an unusual phenomenon. This is seen as the first time that snow showers have appeared in March ever , 'Mr. Hai commented. According to Mr. Hai, common frost and snowfall only occur in Lao Cai from the end of December last year to the end of January next year. The latest snow showers all appeared in January 2000 and 2003. In the spring of 1968, Sa Pa also had the latest snowfall in history, snowflakes, snowfall on February 14. Thus, snow this time has shattered the record set and maintained during the past 43 years, becoming the latest snowfall in history.

Cold weather with drizzle but beautiful snowflakes attracted almost all visitors present in Sapa pouring into the road. The people of Lao Cai City and the surrounding areas also poured in here to see firsthand this amazing natural phenomenon. ' Taxi companies in Lao Cai province are in a state of fire. The road to Sa Pa and O Quy Ho has many serious obstructions that last for about 2 hours , 'said Mr. Hong, a resident in Lao Cai City.

While tourists enjoy it, farmers in Sa Pa and Y Ty sigh loudly. Over the past few days, it was sunny, warm, cattle were grazed outside quite a lot, so many children died cold. Suddenly cold vegetables are also severely affected.

Tourists save beautiful images of snowfall.

Record cold

Mr. Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting, said that in the evening, cold air affected some places in the southern central coast. The temperature in the North decreased significantly. In addition to Sa Pa 0 degrees C, the lowest temperature in Mau Son (Lang Son) is 1.2 degrees C, Sin Ho (Lai Chau) 4.5 degrees C, Moc Chau (Son La) 5.1 degrees C, Cuc Phuong (Ninh Binh) and Nam Dinh are all at 9.7 degrees C.

According to Mr. Hai, the cold air at the lower level has never been stronger compared to the monsoon winds that occurred in March so far while there is a convergence band on the high. The combination of these forms makes the northern sky more cold. ' According to statistics, March is rare. In the historical statistics series, there have been only 4 years of intense colds in March (1996, 2000, 2005 and 2007). These cold spells only last for 2 days and the temperature does not drop too deeply. Cold to 0 degrees in March is probably never recorded before , "Hai said.

According to Mr. Hai, the cold still continued for 2 more days, after that it was only cold and completely ended on March 19. However, around the 22nd and 23rd of March, there will be another period of relatively strong cold air coming back, the North will be cold again. Cold air is also causing strong winds of level 7 - level 8, shock level 9 - level 10, high waves from 3-5m in many seas.