Weather Explainers

Weather Words: Pillow Drift

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Pillow drift may sound more like a sleepy word, but it actually has to do with snow. We have heard about snow drifts in weather words before, but a pillow drift has a different twist. Pillow drifts specifically describe snow drifts that are still soft and fluffy, like a pillow.

Cars buried in the snow on West Canton St. in the historic South End neighborhood off Boston, MA as Blizzard Nemo dumps over 2 feet of snow on Boston on February 9, 2013. (Photo by Rick Friedman/rickfriedman.com/Corbis via Getty Images) — Cars buried in the snow in the historic South End neighborhood of Boston, as Blizzard Nemo dumps over 2 feet of snow on February 9, 2013.
(Rick Friedman/Getty Images)

Pillow drifts can be surprisingly deep, and hard to walk on since the top layer of snow isn’t compact.

These drifts will form when fluffy, light snow falls, then winds blow the snow into piles or mounds against an obstruction like the side of a building or fence.

These beautiful drifts can make for a picturesque landscape right after a freshly fallen snow. Just another reason to make you sleepy during these cold winter months.

Jennifer Gray is a weather and climate writer for weather.com. She has been covering some of the world's biggest weather and climate stories for the last two decades.

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